tihvavy  of t:he  t:heological  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON    .    NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 


Allen  Brown 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 


MISSIONS 


UNDER  THK  CAHK  i»F  THE 


*      DEC  26  1911 


Boai'd  of  Foi'eign  Mission?  of  ik  Dre^bpeiiian  Ghui'ch. 


PUBLISHED  BY   THE 

WOMAN'S   FOREIGN   MISSIONARY   SOCIETY    OF   THK 

PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH, 

Xu.  l.V.U   Chestnut   Street.  Philadelphia. 

1886. 


Press  of 

The  Jos.  B.  Rodgers  Printing  Co. 

■yi  <t  64  A'.  Sixth  Street, 

miadelpliia. 


CONTENTS, 


I'AliK 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS, 5 

MEXICO, 39 

GUATEMALA, 61 

SOUTH  AMERICA, 6!i 

AFRICA, y? 

SYRIA, 121 

PERSIA 147 

INDIA, 175 

SIAM, 205 

CHINA, 23;i 

JAPAN, 267 

KOREA, 291 


THE 


MoHlj  ^m^Htan  littilianis. 


^BY 


Rev.  J.  B.  GARRITT,  Ph.  D. 


Jdihiis 


Green, 


MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  INDIANS. 


I- — Before  the  Formation  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 

OF  Foreign  Missions. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  very  early  in  its 
history  recognized  the  duty  of  offering  the  gospel  to  the  Indians 
of  our  country.  The  first  formal  mission  instituted  by  it  (accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Ashbel  Green)  was  in  the  api^ointment  of  Rev.  Azariah 
Horton  to  labor  as  a  missionary  among  the  Indians  of  Long  Island. 
He  was  selected  by  a  commission  aj^pointed  by  the  "  Society  in 
Scotland  for  propagating  Christian  Knowledge,"  and  entered  upon 
his  work  in  1741.  "He  was  well  received  by  most  and  cordially 
welcomed  by  some  of  them,"  and  many  were  led  to  ask  the 
solemn  question,  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  In  a  short 
time  Mr.  Horton  baptized  thirty-five  adults  and  forty-four  chil- 
dren. Some  of  them,  however,  gave  way  to  temptation,  and 
relapsed  into  their  darling  vice  of  drunkenness. 
_  Rev.  David  Brainerd  was  also  appointed  by  the  same  commis- 
sion, and  labored  one  year — 1743 — in  Connecticut,  and  afterwards 
in  New  Jersey  at  several  different  points,  visiting  the  Indians 
on  the  Susquehanna,  and  settling  at  last  at  Cranbury.  His 
missionary  service  was  ended  by  his  death  in  1747.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother,  Rev.  John  Brainerd.  In  1751  the 
Synod  of  New  York  "  enjoined  all  its  members  to  appoint  a  col- 
lection in  their  several  congregations  once  a  year,  to  be  applied  " 
to  the  support  of  the  missionaries  employed.  Mr.  Brainerd 
continued  to  labor  among  the  Indians  of  New  Jersey  till  his 
death,  in  1781.  A  missionary,  Mr.  Occam,  was  also  sent  to  the 
Oneidas  in  1763.  Several  rather  desultory  efforts,  in  the  way  of 
missionary  tours  by  ministers  appointed  to  the  work,  were  made 
duruig  the  next  ten  yeai-s  among  the  Delawares  in  Ohio,  then 
the  frontier.  For  the  next  twenty  years  we  have  no  records  of 
missionary  labors.  The  Revolutionary  war,  and  the  excited 
state  of  the  Indians,  everywhere  prevented  such  efforts. 

In  1801  and  1802  the  Synod  of  Virginia  sent  three  mission- 
aries to  spend  tAvo  or  three  months  each  among  the  "  Shawanese 
and  other  tribes  about  Detroit  and  Sandusky,"  and  also  "a  youno- 
man  of  pious  character  to  instruct  them  in  agriculture,  and  to 
make  some  instruments  of  husbandry  for  them."    In  the  division 


8  iiisToiiKAi,  sKirn  II  ui-  tiik  missions 

of  tin-  Synod  of  Virfjiiiia  this  mission  fell  to  the  eare  of  the 
SvikmI  of  rittsl)ur<,'h,  which  or^'anized  a  Mis«;ionarv  Society, 
omhI acted  under  its  own  supervision,  hy  which  the  mission  was 
continued  and  eidar^'ed.  A  missionary  was  employed  in  1806 
for  an  entire  year,  also  a  laborer,  a  schoolmaster,  and  a  ])ious 
black  man  and  his  wife.  Measures  were  taken  to  render  the 
mission  permanent.  The  (leneral  Assembly  ^^ave  two  hundred 
dollars  that  year  towards  the  support  of  the  mission,  which  was 
increased  to  four  hundred  dollai-s  in  1H()M,  and  continued  for 
several  years.  The  dispei-sion  of  these  Indians  caused  the 
transfer  'of  this  mission  to  Maumee  in  1.S22,  and  in  1825 
the  Synod  transferred  it  to  the  United  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  and  the  following  year  it  passed  under  the  care  of  the 
American  Board. 

In  180o  the  Synod  of  tlie  Carolinas  sent  a  missionary  among 
the  Catawba  Indians,  who  established  a  successful  school.  About 
the  same  time  Rev.  (lideon  Blackburn  established  a  school  in 
behalf  of  the  General  Assembly's  Committee  of  Missions  among 
the  Cherokee  Indians  in  Tennessee,  with  flattering  prospects. 
He  founded  a  second  school  in  1806.  "In  five  years,  in  his 
schools,  f(»ur  or  five  hundred  youth  were  taught  to  read  the 
English  Bible,  and  several  persons  were  received  as  hopeful 
and  exemplary  Christians."  Mr.  Blackburn  retired  from  the 
mission  in  18io,  and  the  American  Board  soon  after  occupied 
the  field. 

A  large  portion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  carried  on  its 
mission  work  from  1812  to  1838  through  the  American  Jioard, 
and  we  have  no  records  of  other  special  missions  among  the 
Indians,  outside  of  the  operations  of  that  Board,  till  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  in  1.S31.  This 
society  was  the  precursor  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  and  during 
its  brief  existence  of  six  years.  Rev.  Jose])h  Kerr  and  wife,  with 
othei-s,  established  under  its  direction  a  mission  among  the  Weas 
in  the  Indian  Territory,  twenty  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  line, 
on  the  Kansas  river.  In  IH.']?  "a  church  of  ten  native  members 
ha«l  Ix'^ii  formed  in  the  wilderness."  As,  however,  "the  number 
of  the  Weas  was  but  .some  two  or  three  hundred,  and  their 
kinsmen  were  hardly  more  numerous,"  and  a  nii.ssionary  station 
of  the  Methodist  Church  was  not  far  distant,  "it  appeared  inex- 
|K.'dient  to  maintain  the  mission,  and  the  laborere  who  had  health 
to  remain  were  in  1.S3M  transferred  to  the  Iowa  tribe.  Some 
of  the  noblest  examples  of  self-denying  and  faithful  missionary 
labor  and  some  of  the  l)rightest  displays  of  the  power  of  divine 
grace  were  witnessed  in  the  brief  history  of  the  mission  among 
this  little  tribe."     (Lowric.) 


AMONG   THE   NORTH    AMKRICAN    INDIANS.  9 

II. — Missions  op  the  Board:    East  op  Missiasippi  River. 

1.  The  Chippewa  and  Ottawa  Mission  was  inaugurated  in 
1838,  among  the  remnants  of  two  tribes,  about  G500  in  number 
and  speaking  the  same  language.  They  were  then  living  on 
a  reservation  in  the  north  of  Michigan,  occupying  the  country 
situated  between  Grand  river,  in  Michigan,  and  Cliocolate  river, 
near  the  foot  of  Lake  Superior.  They  were  under  treaty  stipu- 
lation to  remove  to  the  Indian  Territory,  but  had  the  privilege 
of  remaining  on  the  reservation  till  1841.  A  few  had  made  some 
advance  in  agriculture,  and  were  living  in  log  houses;  but  the 
majority  were  warlike,  indolent  and  impoverished,  with  few  excep- 
tions living  in  mat  or  bark  lodges,  which  they  carried  with  them 
in  their  migrations,  and  were  addicted  to  the  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

In  1838  Rev.  Peter  Dougherty  was  commissioned  to  visit  these 
Indians  and  to  collect  information  with  a  view  to  missionary 
efforts  among  them.  The  result  was  the  selection  of  a  station  on 
Grand  Traverse  Bay.  He  was  cordially  welcomed  by  many  of 
the  Indians,  and  opened  a  school  in  1839.  The  next  year  a 
comfortable  log  dwelling-house  and  a  school-house  were  erected, 
and  fifty  scholars  were  soon  enrolled.  A  great  interest  was 
manifested  by  the  tribes  in  the  "new  departure,"  one  family  after 
another  being  induced  to  build  small  log  dwellings  near  the  mis- 
sionary. The  fruits  of  faithful  preaching  and  teaching  began 
to  appear  in  1842,  when  there  were  at  least  twenty-six  inquirei's 
after  the  way  of  life,  and  among  them  a  chief,  Ahgosa,  who  said 
that  "  while  the  Lord  gave  him  life,  it  was  his  determination  to 
serve  Him."  The  arrival  of  a  boat  from  Mackinac  with  liquor 
to  sell  i-oused  the  people  on  the  temperance  question,  and  both 
of  the  chiefs  and  forty-seven  others  signed  the  total-abstinence 
pledge.  The  work  was  greatly  aided  by  a  donation  from  the 
Upper  Canadian  Bible  Society  of  a  number  of  copies  of  the 
book  of  Genesis  and  of  the  Gospel  of  John  in  Chippewa,  and 
by  the  obtaining  of  some  hymn-books  in  the  native  language.  In 
1843  a  church  was  organized,  and  the  next  year  a  log  church- 
building  was  erected,  the  Indians  cheerfully  helping  to  do  the 
work,  while  the  necessary  materials,  to  the  amount  of  S270,  were 
furnished  by  the  Board.  The  same  year  a  spelling-book  was 
published  in  Chippewa — the  only  work,  besides  those  just  men- 
tioned, as  yet  published  in  this  language.  For  several  years  the 
mission  made  steady  advance  in  school  and  church  and  in  the  out- 
ward result  of  Christian  teaching,  the  civilization  of  the  Indians. 
Mr.  Dougherty's  report  in  1847  gives  the  following :  "  Six  yeai"s 
ago  the  site  occupied  by  the  village  was  a  dense  thicket.  The 
village  now  extends  nearly  a  mile  in  length,  containing  some 


10  irisTOKicAL  SKvrr(  II  of  thk  missions 

twenty  lo|,'  hoiiws  nnd  some  good  log  stables  belonging  to  the 
Indians.  During  that  period  they  have  eleared  and  cultivated 
some  two  hundred  aeres  of  new  gardens,  besides  what  additions 
were  made  to  the  old  ones.  They  raise  for  sale  several  hundred 
bushels  of  eorn  and  j)otatoes.  They  are  improving  in  abstinence 
fnun  intoxication."  The  Indians  also  began  to  desire  to  own 
their  own  lands.  They  had  .sold  their  lands  to  the  United  States 
in  IH.'i"),  and  were  now  remaining  on  the  reservations  at  the  plea- 
suix'  of  the  government.  In  li^o'i,  under  the  new  constitution  of 
the  state  of  Michigan,  they  were  jHrmitted  to  become  citizens, 
and  were  encouraged  to  remain  and  to  purchase  lands;  but  as 
the  lands  where  the  mission  was  established  were  not  offered  for 
sale,  they  had  to  j)urcha.se  elsewhere.  This  caused  a  j)artial  dis- 
persion of  the  little  Christian  community,  and  several  changes. 
The  old  station  was  removed  to  the  west  side  of  Grand  Traverse 
Bay,  and  a  second  one  was  established  at  Little  Traverse,  on 
Little  Traverse  Bay,  about  forty  miles  to  the  north.  In  18o3  a 
school  was  opened  at  a  third  station.  Middle  Village,  twenty 
miles  still  further  north. 

Meanwhile  the  strictly  religious  work  of  the  mission  was  car- 
ried on  as  usual.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  there  was  a  large 
"  heathen  j)arty,"  attached  to  their  supei-stitions,  taking  little 
interest  in  the  education  of  their  children,  intemperate  and 
roving;  clinging  .strongly  to  their  customs,  religion,  medicine  and 
apj)etites.  This  party  advanced  towards  civilization  but  slowly. 
But  the  "Christian  party"  was  advancing  yearly  in  intelligence, 
in  virtue,  and  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life. 

A  boarding-school  was  opened  at  Grand  Traverse  in  1853, 
which  wjis  conducted  on  the  manual-labor  plan. 

The  schools  at  the  other  stations  were  also  prosperous.  They 
had  ex[)erienced  the  opposition  of  the  Romish  priests;  but  this 
only  awakened  inquiry  and  led  to  their  greater  popularity, 
because  they  taught  the  English  language  and  used  the  Bible. 

In  185G,  Rev.  H.  W.  Guthrie  was  appointed  to  the  Ivittle 
Traverse  station,  and  the  next  year  organized  a  church  there 
with  eighteen  members. 

During  the  next  decade  the  mission  labored  under  discourage- 
ments and  difficulties  which  finally  resulted  in  its  suspension. 
The  circumstances  which  caused  this  state  of  things  were  "the 
indiHerence  of  many  of  the  people  to  the  education  of  their 
children  ;  the  distance  of  many  families  from  the  station,  which 
made  it  impracticable  to  keep  up  the  day-school  at  Grand  Tra- 
verse;  the  influx  of  whites,  nuiny  of  whom  were  not  reputable; 
the  opjtositioii  of  Romanists;  and  the  unsettled  feeling  on  the 
part  of  many  of  the  tribe  as  to  their  remaining  in  the  country." 


AMONG   THE   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS.  11 

The  Indians  around  the  mission  were  constantly  decreasing  in 
number,  and  many  were  absorbed  as  citizens  in  the  surrounding 
popuhition.  The  result  was  that  the  boarding-school  was  discon- 
tinued in  1867,  and  in  1871  the  churches  were  placed  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbytery  and  the  mission  given  up. 

During  the  thirty-three  years  of  the  existence  of  this  mission, 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  members  were  received  into  the 
church  at  Grand  Traveree,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  to  the 
church  at  Little  Traverse. 

Though  it  was  a  great  trial  to  those  who  had  so  long  been 
engaged  in  it,  to  give  up  their  work  there,  yet  it  seemed  to  have 
accomplished  its  end.  Much  had  been  done  to  elevate  the 
Indians,  and  prepare  them  for  their  ])ositions  as  citizens,  in 
addition  to  the  spiritual  blessings  which  had  been  conferred 
upon  them. 

2.  The  Seneca  Mission. — This  name  is  given  to  the  mission 
conducted  among  the  remnants  of  the  "  Six  Nations," — about 
5000  in  number, — who  are  settled  on  eight  reservations  in 
western  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  embracing  in  all  about 
85,000  acres  of  land. 

Missionary  labors  were  commenced  among  these  Indians  in 
1811,  by  the  New  York  Missionary  Society;  continued  by  the 
United  F.  M.  Society  from  1822;  in  1826  transferred  to  the 
American  Board, -and  by  them  to  our  Board  in  1870.  The 
Mission  under  the  American  Board  had  been  very  successful ; 
the  tribe  had  increased  one-third  in  number ;  it  had  made  great 
advance  in  civilized  life,  and  there  was  "  a  record  of  six  or 
seven  hundred  hopeful  conversions." 

At  the  time  of  the  transfer,  in  1870,  there  were  three  mission 
stations — two  on  the  Cattaraugus  Reservation,  which  lies  between 
Bufflilo  and  Dunkirk,  and  one  on  the  Allegheny  Reservation, 
on  the  Allegheny  river.  The  missionaries  in  charge  of  these 
stations  were :  at  Upper  Cattaraugus,  Rev.  Asher  Wright  and 
wife,  with  one  assistant ;  at  Lower  Cattaraugus,  Rev.  George 
Ford  and  Avife ;  and  at  Allegheny,  Rev.  William  Hall  and  Avife, 
with  two  native  assistants.  There  were  two  churches ;  the  one  on 
the  Cattaraugus  Reservation  numbering  129,  that  at  Allegheny 
87.  There  were  various  Sabbath-schools  in  successful  operation  ; 
and  an  orphan  asylum,  established  mainly  by  the  labors  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wright,  though  supported  by  the  State,  Avith  eighty  or 
ninety  children  in  charge,  Avas  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

Since  1872  the  missionaries  have  extended  their  labors  to  the 
TonaAvanda  and  Tuscarora  Reservations,  where  small  churches 
had  been  formed,  since  Avhich  time  forty-eight  have  been  added 
to  these  churches  on  profession  of  faith,  though  they  are  now 


]•_'  IIISTdKICAL    SKETCH    (»K    THK    MISSIONS 

miiiHrinillv  no  stronirt'r  than  in  1«72.  In  1880  these  churches 
itn<i  th.'  niisiiiun  work  wire  phiced  under  the  supervision  of 
till-  Pn'r'bvtory  of  Hutfalo.  with  the  view  that  they  might 
ere  lonj;  lu'itmie  self-sujiportin^'  and  tliat  they  might  more 
fully  rei-eive  the  fostering  care  of  the  churches  near  them. 
Arrangements  wi-re  made  with  tiie  Kev.  Morton  W.  Trijjpe  to 
}iec(»nie  tlu-  pastor  of  the  principal  church,  and  to  give  part  of 
his  time  to  tlu-  other  chiirelK's.  The  I'rcsl)yterial  supervision 
has  Ixt-n  of  general  service,  l)ut  tlie  arrangement  has  not  yet 
jirovi'd  that  these  churches  arc  i)rcpareil  to  be  placed  on  the 
usual  footing  of  the  home  churches,  either  for  self-support  or  for 
Chri.^tian  advancement. 

The  hindrances  are  many :  the  heathen  party  (about  one-half 
of  the  whole  number)  stubbornly  resist  Christian  and  civilizing 
intiuciiccs,  and  cling  to  the  suiJCivtitions  and  heathen  practices 
of  their  fathei"s ;  some  United  States  laws  work  badly;  the 
opjiosition  of  besotted  white  men,  runisellers  and  debauched 
Indians,  the  influence  of  ungodly  and  unprincipled  State  school 
teachers;  tribal  politics  and  feuds, — all  combine  to  render  the 
mission  work  a  very  slow  one.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
arc  cn<'ouragcments:  a  real  advance  is  noticeable,  for  Christianity 
is  slowly  but  surely  uprooting  the  deep  growth  of  paganism 
There  are  frequent  conversions  from  the  pagan  partj^ ;  there  is 
easier  access  to  the  people;  at  least  150U  can  now  read  and  write; 
and  many  more  have  some  knowledge  of  the  English  language, 
and  many  also  desire  better  homes  and  education  for  their  chil- 
dren, and  that  they  may  be  brought  up  like  the  good  whites. 

J)uring  the  fifteen  years  of  the  Presbyterian  Board's  work  230 
have  been  added  to  tiie  several  churches  of  the  Mission  ;  and 
during  the  current  year  (1885)  a  special  blessing  upon  the 
labors  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Trippe  is  reported.  Daily  meetings  were 
held,  and  as  numy  as  12')  expressed  their  faith  in  Christ. 

It  is  fitting  that  special  notice  should  be  taken  of  two  mis- 
sionaries in  this  field,  who  have  lately  been  called  to  their  reward. 

Rev.  Asher  Wriglit  labored  among  the  Senecas  forty-three 
years.  He  is  .said  to  have  been  the  only  male  missionary  who 
ever  acipiired  a  satisfactory  knowledge  of  the  Seneca  language. 
He  constructed  for  them  a  u'ritten  language,  and  translated  the 
four  Cospels,  and  was  sjjcnding  his  last  days  upon  a  translation 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  He  died  April  13,  187"),  in  his  72d 
year.  Mrs.  Wright  still  lives  to  carry  on  to  completion  what 
was  left  unlinished  ])y  her  husband.  She  speaks  the  native  lan- 
guage, and  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  Indians. 

Mrs.  E.  .1.  Hall,  ni'tcr  forty-seven  years  of  service  among  the 
Senecas,  entered  into  rest  February  17,  1882,  in  the  74th  year 


AMONG   THE    NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS.  13 

of  her  age.  Nearly  the  whole  period  of  labor  was  spent  on  the 
Allegheny  Reservation.  Amid  many  severe  trials,  and  in  deep 
and  sincere  devotion  to  her  life-work,  "  the  symmetry  and  strength 
of  Mrs.  Hall's  character  became  more  and  more  apparent." 

3.  The  Lake  ^Supeiiior  Chippewa  Mission. — The  Chippewas 
in  northern  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  occupy  14  reservations, 
and  number  about  9000.  The  mission,  known  as  the  Ojibwa 
Mission,  was  established  by  the  American  Board  in  1830,  and 
for  some  years  embraced  several  stations,  though  only  one  since 
1852.  This'was  located  at  Odanah,  on  the  Bad  River  Reserve 
in  Wisconsin,  and  is  the  only  Protestant  mission  among  these 
bands.  A  church  was  gathered,  and  a  boarding-school  was  con- 
ducted for  several  years.  But  in  1867,  Rev.  L.  H.  Wheeler, 
who  had  labored  in  this  mission  since  1842  having  become 
enfeebled  in  health,  removed  to  Beloit,  and  the  mission  was 
virtually  suspended.  The  only  religious  instruction  within  reach 
of  the  Indians,  was  given  by  Mr.  Blatchford,  an  Indian  preacher, 
formerly  in  connection  with  the  mission,  but  then  interpreter  for 
the  government  agent.  He  is  again  in  the  service  of  the  mission 
at  Odanah. 

On  the  transfer  of  the  mission  to  the  Presbytei'ian  Board  in 
1870,  there  were  but  few  church  members  to  be  found,  and  no 
schools  were  in  operation.  The  mission  property  was,  however, 
repaired  and  additional  ground  purchased.  The  Board  having 
obtained  help  from  the  government  of  $2350  annually,  for  three 
years,  towards  the  expense  of  a  boarding-school,  appropriated  an 
additional  amount,  and  secured  the  services  of  a  superintendent, 
and  two  lady  teachers.  Miss  Phillips  and  Miss  Verbeck.  The 
re-opening  of  the  school  was  gladly  welcomed,  and  before  the 
year  closed  nineteen  scholars  were  enrolled,  six  of  whom  were 
girls,  but  it  has  not  prospered  as  was  hoped,  because  the  Indians 
are  scattered  on  so  many  different  reservations,  and  has  now 
only  a  nominal  existence.  In  1873  Rev.  Isaac  Baird  and  wife 
joined  the  mission,  and  continued  in  faithful  service  till  1884, 
when  they  were  succeeded  by  Rev.  Francis  Specs  and  Avife. 

In  1878  an  outstation  at  Ashland,  on  the  Lac  Court  d'  Oreilles 
Reserve,  w'as  occupied  and  a  day  school  opened  in  charge  of  a 
native  assistant,  Louis  Manypenny,  who  had  been  educated  at 
Odanah.  In  1884  a  school  was  opened  at  Round  Lake  on  the 
same  reservation  and  placed  in  charge  of  Miss  Susie  Dougherty, 
Avho  had  been  teaching  at  Odanah  since  1873,  and  Miss  Cornelia 
Dougherty  was  associated  with  her  in  1884.  Their  sister,  Mrs. 
Minnie  Ells,  became  a  teacher  at  Odanah  in  1885.  These  three 
ladies  are  daughters  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Dougherty,  formerly  of 
Grand  Traverse  Bay.  Rev.  S.  G.  Wright  also  became  connected 
with  the  Mission  in  1884. 


14  HISTUKICAI-    SKKTCII    OK    THK    MISSIONS 

III  tin-  fourteen  years  of  the  Board's  oversiglit  of  this  work, 
KM  persons  have  been  reeeived  into  the  church  on  profession  of 
faith.  The  present  nienihershij)  is  To.  Many  of  the  Indians 
adopt  tlie  ways  of  civilized  life,  are  learning;  to  value  education, 
and  an-  enL'aL'in<r  in  industrial  pursuits;  but  the  larger  number 
are  still  enamored  with  their  wild  and  barbarous  life,  and  care 
for  none  of  these  things. 

III. — AMON(i  THE  Indians  ok  tiik  Northwest. 

1  (a).  The  Iowa  and  Sac  Mis.'^ion  was  commenced  in  1835, 
bv  the  Westefn  Foreign  Mi.ssionary  Society.  The  lowas  and 
Sacs  speak  the  same  language,  and  were  apparently  so  consoli- 
dated by  intermarriage  and  other  ties  of  interest  as  to  be  one 
nation.  They  occupy  lands  in  what  is  now  the  northeast  corner 
of  Kansas,  then  the  northern  portion  of  the  Indian  Territory. 
There  were  from  1500  to  2000  then  living  together  on  their 
reservation.  Their  vicinity  to  the  settlements  of  white  people 
had  proved  a  serious  drawback  to  their  improvement.  For 
.'several  yeai-s  the  whisky  trade  had  been  carried  on  with  little 
restraint,  an<l  it  was  very  easy  for  the  besotted  Indians  to  cross 
over  the  river  and  i*eek  their  most  deadly  enemy.  Owing  to 
their  intemperance  their  number  was  steadily  deci-easing.  And 
as  they  became  fewer  in  number  they  became  more  disi)irited 
and  degraded.  The  Sacs  were  the  more  sober  and  industrious  of 
the  two,  but  were  equally  iiiditt'erent  to  the  gospel. 

The  first  missionaries  were  Messrs.  Aurey  Ballard  and  E.  i\I. 
Shepherd  and  their  wives.  Several  schools  were  established,  and 
fre(|uent  visits  paid  from  lodge  to  lodge  for  purpose  of  instruction 
and  religious  worship. 

On  the  formation  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  1837,  Rev. 
Messrs.  William  Hamilton  and  S.  M.  Irvin  and  their  wives  were 
s(>nt  to  the  station,  of  whom  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Irvin  continued  with 
the  mission  throughout  its  entire  existence. 

For  several  years  the  missionaries  had  to  prosecute  their  work 
not  only  amid  great  discouragements,  but  at  times  in  the  midst 
of  serious  perils  to  life,  owing  to  the  excitement  and  quarrels  of 
the  Indians  under  tiie  influence  of  li(iuor.  Yet  when  sober  they 
regarded  the  missionaries  as  their  best  friends,  and  j)laced  the 
greatest  confidence  in  them.  Gradually  pei-sistent  efforts  began 
to  iireak  up  the  Indian  ])rejudices  and  produce  their  legitimate 
fruit.  In  1M45  a  boarding-school  was  opened  at  the  station  near 
Highland.  A  majority  of  the  lowas  were  now  desirous  that  the 
missi(tiiary  work  should  be  sustained,  and  especially  that  a 
manual-labor  boarding-school  should  be  established     They  appro- 


AMONG   THE    NORTH    AMERICAN    INDIANS.  15 

priated  $2000  of  their  annuities  for  tliis  puri)ose,  and  at  a  meeting 
of  their  council,  entered  on  their  minutes,  "Many  of  us  feel  in- 
clined to  change  our  way  of  living,  and  are  anxious  to  see  our 
children  raised  up  to  business,  and  habits  of  virtue."  A  building 
large  enough  to  accommodate  one-hundred  scholars,  and  costing 
between  $6000  and  $7000,  was  erected,  in  which,  the  next  year, 
about  fifty  children  were  assembled.  Upon  the  opening  of  the 
school,  however,  the  Sacs,  Avho  had  apparently  entered  heartily 
into  the  scheme,  and  had  contributed  a  considerable  i)art  of  the 
means  for  the  building,  declined  to  send  a  single  scholar,  partly 
from  unwillingness  to  give  up  their  own  customs,  and  partly  from 
dislike  to  the  lowas.  This  unwillingness  was  never  overcome, 
and  consequently  little  of  the  blessed  influence  of  the  school  was 
felt  among  them.  This  boarding-school  continued  throughout 
the  existence  of  the  mission  a  very  valuable  auxiliary  to  the 
work;  but  in  1800,  the  support  from  the  Indian  annuities  was 
withdrawn,  and  it  was  made  a  general  school  for  the  education 
of  Indian  orphan  children  of  all  tribes.  It  was  finally  closed  in 
1860,  the  reasons  being  the  distance  from  the  Indians — some  of 
the  children  being  brought  six  hundred  miles — and  the  difficulty 
without  the  aid  of  the  government,  which  was  seldom  given,  of 
obtaining  orphan  children.  During  its  existence  of  twenty-five 
years,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  from  five  hundred  to  six  hundred 
Indian  children  received  instruction  in  it. 

In  1843  a  printing  press  was  purchased.  The  Iowa  language 
was  reduced  to  writing,  a  grammar,  portions  of  the  Scriptures, 
hymn,  school,  and  religious  books  were  published.  As  early  as 
1849,  30,000  pages  Avere  printed.  Further  than  this,  however, 
the  missionaries  did  not  deem  it  best  to  go,  as  it  was  thought  more 
important  to  teach  the  English  language,  especially  to  the  young. 

Along  with  these  missionary  labors,  the  gospel  was  constantly 
preached ;  but  such  was  the  indifference  of  the  Indians,  their  love 
of  strong  drink,  and  the  evil  influence  of  wicked  whites,  that 
but  comparatively  few  were  converted.  In  1859,  the  last  year 
that  a  report  is  made  from  the  native  church,  there  were  forty- 
nine  members.  In  1860,  the  Indians  had  settled  down  on  their 
reservation,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  mission  and  the 
school,  and  in  a  great  measure  withdrew  from  it;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Irwin  also  were  compelled  to  withdraw  on  account  of  health  ; 
and  this  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  mission. 

Mission  work  was  resumed  in  1881,  and  Mr.  and  Mi-s.  Irwin 
were  re-appointed.  Their  work  is  well  received  by  the  Indians, 
and  there  are  some  true  believers.  There  is,  however,  no  organ- 
ized church  among  them,  nor  is  it  deemed  best  at  present  to 
attempt  to  form  one.     The  band  is  in  an  unsettled  condition, 


IG  HISTORICAL   SKETCn    OF   THE    MISSIONS 

owiiij;  to  a  (lispositicin  to  remove  to  the  Indian  Territory.  They 
an-  in  a  nu-asure  civilized,  and  make  their  living  chiefly  by  in- 
dustrial pui-suits. 

(A).  Sac  and  Fox.  As  a  result  of  the  eftorts  of  Christian 
women  of  the  Iowa  City  Presbyterial  Society,  a  tentative  mission 
amonj;  the  little  hand  of  .'{')<)  Indians  of  these  tribes,  on  a  small 
n^ervation  near  the  centre  of  Iowa,  was  commenced  at  Tama 
citv  in  IXH.'}.  Miss  Anna  Skea  was  appointed  under  the  aus[)ices 
of  "the  W.  B.  F.  M.  of  the  N.  W.  to  take  char^^e  of  the  work. 
Her  eftorta  were  fii-st  directed  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the 
Indians  ;  then  with  an  a.«sistant,  she  opened  a  mission-room,  fitted 
up  with  charts,  pictures,  an  (U-gan  and  a  sewinfj^  machine,  whence 
already,  in  various  ways,  lier  influence  is  exerted  for  <ioo(l.  The 
work  in  its  beginning  is  slow,  but  there  are  already  some  who  are 
willing  to  listen  to  the  gospel  tiding^•,  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  efl!()rt  will  j)rove  a  success. 

2.  TiiK  Omaha  and  Otok  Mission  was  commenced  in  1846. 
These  tribes  occupied  the  country  north  of  the  lowas,  and  under- 
stood their  languaire.  The  following  account  of  them  is  given  in 
the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Board  foi'  1847  and  1848:  "The 
Otoes  are  divided  into  six  bands,  and  number  11(56.  They  are 
much  esteemed  by  the  neighboring  tribes  for  their  daring  spirit; 
but  their  moral  character  is  far  from  being  good.  They  indulge 
to  excess  in  the  use  of  intoxicating  s|)irits.  They  are,  however, 
desirous  of  having  missionaries  and  teachers.  The  Omahas 
number  lOoO,  and  are  considered  more  docile  and  harmless  than 
the  adjoining  tribes.  They  have  been  forced  to  leave  their  old 
villages  above  Council  Bluff's,  by  their  enemies,  the  Sioux,  and 
are  much  dispirited.  They  are  very  poor,  both  men  and  women 
being  clothed  in  skins,  and  their  children,  even  in  winter,  are 
nearly  naked,  and  often  entirely  so.  Poor  as  they  are,  the 
( )mahas  are  strongly  addicted  to  intoxicating  liquore.  Both 
tribes  are  in  a  state  of  degradation,  destitution,  and  wretched- 
ness. They  are  acquainted  only  with  hunting,  and  know  not 
how  to  labor." 

The  mission  was  commenced  by  Rev.  Edmund  McKinney  and 
his  wife,  and  Mr.  Paul  Bloohm  as  assistant.  The  j)lace  selected 
as  a  station  was  Bellevue,  west  of  the  Missouri  river  and  north 
of  the  Platte  (now  Sarpy  county,  Nebraska).  The  next  year 
means  were  furnished  by  some  friends  of  the  Indians  in  Kew 
York  city  to  establish  a  boarding-school.  The  Otoes  gave  their 
annuity  of  SoOO  that  their  children  might  share  in  the  benefits 
of  the  school.  The  missionaries  found  difficulty,  however,  in 
obtaining  scholars.  When  application  was  made  to  the  Indians 
for  their  children,  it  was  found  that  tiieir  minds  had  been  so 


AMONG    THE   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS,  17 

j)oisoned  that  it  was  doubtful  for  a  time  whether  they  would 
avail  themselves  of  the  blessing  brought  to  their  door.  "The 
school  was  a  prison,  and  it  would  be  cruel  to  put  them  there." 
"  It  would  be  cruel  to  make  the  children  wear  clothes  in  summer." 
"The  children  would  get  sick  and  die,  so  near  the  Missouri." 
8uch  were  the  reasons  given.  Yet  by  September,  1848,  tweaty- 
five  boys  and  girls  were  gathered  into  the  school. 

In  1850  Mr.  McKinney  writes:  "  The  condition  of  the  Omahas 
at  the  present  time  contrasts  favorably  with  what  it  was  at  the 
time  of  the  establishment  of  the  mission.  They  are  at  peace 
with  their  enemies,  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  temporal  prosperity, 
and,  more  than  all,  seem  disposed  to  break  away  from  the  ruinous 
vice  of  drunkenness." 

The  success  of  the  school  appears  in  the  report  for  1854  (as 
an  example)  :  There  were  42  scholars — of  these  15  were  Paw- 
nees, 10  Omahas,  6  Sioux,  4  Blackfeet,  4  Otoes,  and  3  Poncas — 
26  boys  and  16  girls. 

(a)  The  Omaha  Misdon. — In  1855  these  two  tribes  made  new 
treaties  with  the  government  by  which  they  ceded  a  large  part 
of  their  territory  to  the  United  States.  A  new  reservation  was 
set  apart  for  the  Omahas,  and  they  removed  thither  within  the 
year.  According  to  the  treaty,  640  acres,  including  the  mission 
buildings,  Avas  transferred  to  the  Board.  The  proceeds  of  this, 
when  sold,  was  devoted  "  to  promote  the  cause  of  education  and 
religion  among  the  Indian  tribes  in  that  region  of  country."  A 
station  was  selected  in  the  new  reservation  at  Blackbird  Hills, 
in  the  northeast  of  Nebraska,  on  the  Missouri  river,  70  miles 
above  Omaha  city.  Rev.  William  Hamilton  superintended  the 
erection  of  the  new  buildings,  but  was  compelled  by  feeble  health 
to  retire  from  the  field  in  1857.  He  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Charles  Sturges,  M.  D.,  and  wife,  with  a  corps  of  twelve  teachers 
and  assistants,  four  of  whom  were  Indians.  The  school  was 
reopened  in  1857,  forty-three  scholars  were  enrolled,  and  a 
church  was  organized.  The  experiment  of  a  mission  farm  was 
again  tried,  and  with  success.  The  frequent  changes  in  the 
teachers  and  assistants  interfered  somewhat  with  the  efficiency  of 
the  school. 

In  1868-9  the  lands  of  the  Indians  were  divided  and  assigned 
to  them  in  severalty.  It  was  hoped  that  this  measure  would 
result  in  good.  As,  however,  the  funds  appropriated  by  the 
government  were  withdrawn  at  the  same  time,  it  resulted  in  the 
discontinuance  of  the  boarding-school.  In  place  of  it  several 
day-schools  under  charge  of  the  Board  were  established.  The 
same  year  witnessed  the  first  considerable  increase  of  the  church. 
Nineteen  members  were  received  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  who  had 
returned  to  the  mission  in  1867. 


IS  HISTORirAL   SKETCH    OF   THE    MIfiSIONS 

The  decade  and  a  half  of  years  since  1870  has  been  a  time  of 
faithful  ami  siicct'ssful  lahor  on  the  part  of  tin'  vctierabio  niis- 
siojiarv,  Mr.  ilainiltou,  and  his  lu'lpei>i.  The  churcii.  has  steadily 
increasi'd  in  numbers. 

The  fear  of  the  missionaries  tliat  the  closinj;  of  the  boardin<f- 
school  would  be  detrimental  to  the  educational  interests  of  the 
( )niahas  proved  to  be  well  founded.  By  the  plan  of  the  govern- 
ment the  Omaha  agency  was  ])laced  under  the  direction  of  the 
Friends.  As  the  government  school  under  their  direction  did 
not  give  satisfaction,  at  the  instance  of  the  government,  and  at 
the  re(|uest  of  the  chiefs,  the  boarding-school  was  reopened  in 
December,  1M79,  the  government  agreeing  to  pay  a  considerable 
part  of  the  expense.  In  18M.'>  a  change  in  the  boarding-school 
was  made  so  as  only  to  admit  girls  as  scholars.  The  reason  was 
that  the  government  had  a  boarding-school  for  boys  within  three 
miles  of  the  mission.  The  same  year  Mr.  J.  T.  Coj)ley  was 
app<tinted  a  lay  missionary.  The  number  of  church  members 
given  in  the  hist  report  is  50,  and  the  prospects  of  the  mission 
are  encouraging. 

(b)  The  Otoe  Mmion. — The  Otoes  were  interested  in  the  mis- 
sionary operations  at  Bellevue  till  the  close  of  that  mission  in 
18o5.  Their  new  reservation  lay  about  sixty  miles  to  the  west, 
on  the  Platte  river.  Upon  their  removal  thither  the  Board 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  Indian  Department  to 
establish  a  school  for  their  children  also.  A  missionary  of 
another  church  had  labored  for  a  Avhile  among  tliem ;  but, 
because  of  their  roving  habits  and  frequent  absences,  the  mission 
was  given  uj).  They  had  taken  but  little  advantage  of  the 
school  at  Bellevue.  In  accordance  with  their  agreement  the 
Board  j)ut  up  a  school-house  on  their  reservation  in  1856,  and 
Kev.  D.  A.  Murdock  with  a  corps  of  teachers  was  put  in  charge 
of  the  mission.  Several  of  the  teachers  were  natives  who  had 
been  trained  in  the  Iowa  school.  Kev.  H.  W.  Guthrie  was 
appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  mission  in  185<H.  The  Indians 
received  the  missionaries  readily  and  kindly,  and  listened  to 
their  instructions,  but  were  unwilling  to  allow  their  children  to 
attend  the  school.  Throughout  the  year  but  six  or  eight  were 
in  the  school  at  one  time,  and  the  teacher's  patience  was  greatly 
tried  by  their  fickleness  and  instability.  The  next  year  Mr. 
Guthrie  withdrew  from  the  field,  and  after  the  close  of  the  year 
thia  mission  was  discontinued. 

3.  Thk  Kickai'oo  Mission. — The  Kickapoos  are  an  inter- 
esting tribe  of  Indians,  about  300  in  number,  in  the  northeastern 
part  (jf  Kansas,  ai)out  twenty  miles  south  of  the  Iowa  mission. 
Like  other  tribes  in  the  same  region,  they  had  ceded  their  lands 


AMONG   THE   NORTH    AMERKJAN    INDIANS.  19 

to  the  government,  reserving  a  sufficiency  for  their  own  use. 
The  mission  among  these  Indians  was  commenced  in  185(),  Rev. 
W.  H.  Honnell,  with  a  farmer  and  a  force  of  teachers,  reaching 
the  field  in  July.  Twenty  boys  were  at  once  committed  to  their 
care,  but  no  girls. 

The  mission  was,  however,  soon  subjected  to  unexpected  diffi- 
culties, which  greatly  retarded  its  progress.  In  addition  to 
privations  and  hardships  the  missionaries  were  forced  to  endure 
the  want  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  and  many 
petty  annoyances  from  unprincipled  white  men.  The  Indians 
were  ignorant  and  had  no  just  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 
education.  They  had  been  often  wronged,  and  were  naturally 
suspicious.  The  unprincipled  whites  did  all  in  their  power 
to  increase  these  suspicions  and  prejudices.  As  these  adverse 
influences  continued  to  exist  in  full  force,  and  there  seemed  no 
prospect  of  overcoming  them,  the  Board  resolved  to  discontinue 
the  school  and  close  the  mission,  which  was  done  in  June,  1860. 

4.  The  Winnebago  Mission. — In  1865  the  sympathies  of  the 
missionaries  among  the  Omahas,  and  of  the  Board,  were  deeply 
enlisted  for  a  body  of  Winnebago  Indians.  They  had  formerly 
lived  in  Minnesota,  but  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
Sioux,  and  had  been  living  for  a  Avhile  in  an  unsettled  condition 
on  the  Omaha  reservation.  They  were  about  2000  in  number, 
were  full  of  courage,  and  more  cordial  and  frank  in  their 
manner  than  most  Indians.  They  showed  also  the  great  advan- 
tage of  having  been  under  missionary  influence  in  their  former 
abode,  where  an  excellent  Cumberland  Presbyterian  missionary 
had  spent  many  years  in  laboring  for  their  welfare.  A  few  could 
read  imperfectly,  and  they  were  generally  anxious  to  learn. 
They  were  partially  civilized,  and  seemed  to  appreciate  to  some 
degree  the  blessings  of  the  missionary  education,  and,  in  a 
memorial  to  the  Indian  Department,  requested  that  a  school 
might  be  established  among  them.  In  1868  Rev.  Joseph  M. 
Wilson  reached  the  Winnebago  district  and  entered  upon  the 
work.  There  were  many  things  to  discourage,  however,  and 
after  somew^hat  over  a  year's  labor,  following  the  convictions  of 
duty  Mr.  Wilson  left  the  mission  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  the 
ministry  among  the  white  population.  As  the  Friends  Avere 
making  efforts  for  the  secular  and  religious  instruction  of  the 
tribe,  the  Board  was  led  to  withhold  further  efforts  among  the 
Winnebagoes  until  1881,  when  a  mission  was  established,  with 
Rev.  S.  N.  D.  Martin  and  wife  in  charge.  Mr.  Martin  reports 
public  preaching  as  receiving  good  attention,  and  a  Sabbath 
class  for  religious  instruction ;  a  few^  converts  baptized ;  but  in 
general,  the  work  is  very  unpromising,  owing  to  the  roving  dis- 


20  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF   THK    MISSIONS 

position  of  tlic  people,  and  their  entire  indifference  to  the  truth. 
To  this  is  to  he  lujch-d  his  own  ditticiilty  in  communioating  with 
them,  having'  to  do  so  hy  the  lielp  of  an  interpreter,  who  has  a 
verv  iinperfcrt  knowledge  of  lOnglisli.  But  in  the  midst  of  all 
these  dirticulties  the  missionary  is  still  faithful  and  hopeful. 

5.  TiiK  Dakota  Mission  was  commenced  in  18.'55,  hy  Rev. 
Messrs.  Thomas  S.  Williamson  and  J.  D.  Stevens,  with  their  wives 
and  two  unmarried  women,  under  commissions  from  the  American 
Jioard.  They  landed  at  Fort  Snelling,  and  soon  selected  for  their 
station  Lake  Harriet,  five  or  six  miles  west  of  the  fort.  Another 
station  was  commenced  at  Lac  (pii  Parle,  200  miles  further  west. 

The  I  )akotas,  or  Sioux,  were  not  only  one  of  the  largest  tribes 
in  the  Tnited  States  (not  far  from  r)(),000  in  number),  but  one 
of  the  wildest  and  most  warlike,  iidiabiting  a  vast  tract  of 
country  embracing  the  larger  part  of  Minnesota  and  Dakota, 
and  a  portion  of  Nebraska,  Wyoming,  and  Montana.  The  first 
yeai-s  of  the  missionaries'  labore  were  spent  in  the  midst  of 
discouragements,  opposition  and  pei-secution,  so  that  the  work 
advanced  very  slowly.  Li  1^<")0  there  were  three  organized 
churches  and  thirty-one  communicants.  In  1853  the  Dakotas 
ri'moved  to  their  reservation,  and  the  stations  then  occu})ied 
within  the  ceded  territory  were  given  up,  and  new  ones  selected. 
From  this  time  to  1862  there  was  a  slow  but  steady  increase  in 
the  number  of  converts.  Then  came  the  horrid  massacre  of  the 
white  settlers  by  Indians,  who  sought  to  destroy  Christianity  and 
tiiose  whom  they  regarded  as  their  enemies.  They  were  speedily 
overthrown,  and  some  2000  Dakotas  were  taken  prisoners;  of 
the.se  38  were  executed  at  Mankato.  Many  of  the  prisoner, 
mainly  through  the  faithful  labors  of  Dr.  Williamson,  were 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  truth,  and  305  Avere  baptized; 
and  at  another  place  133  united  with  the  church  on  })rofession 
of  their  faith.  Othere  have  since  been  led  to  embrace  Christ,  so 
that,  in  connection  with  the  Presbytery  of  Dakota,  there  are  ten 
churches,  with  a  meml)ership  of  674,  nine  ordained  native  minis- 
ters, and  one  licentiate. 

In  1>^11  a  portion  of  this  mission  was  transferred  to  the 
Presbvterian  Board,  with  the  missionaries,  Kev.  Thomas  S. 
Williamson,  M.  D.,  the  founder  of  the  mission,  and  his  son, 
He  v.  John  P.  Williamson.  With  them  came  two  churches,  that 
of  Flandreau,  ministered  to  by  Rev.  J.  P.  AVilliarason,  and  that 
of  Greenwood,  with  its  native  pastor.  Rev.  AY.  O.  Rogers.  In 
these  churches,  according  to  the  Report  of  1872,  were  164  com- 
municants. Up  to  the  time  of  the  transfer,  40  missionaries  had 
been  engaged  in  the  service,  and  the  whole  number  gathered 
into  the  church  from  first  to  last  was  not  far  from  1000. 


AMONG    THE   NORTH    AMERICAN    INDIANS.  21 

Of  the  two  churches  Mr.  AVilliamson  presents  the  foUowing 
facts  in  the  Annual  Report  of  1872 :  "  The  (Jreenwood  church, 
at  Yankton  agency,  organized  only  a  year  ago,  has  a  present 
membership  of  51.  The  majority  of  the  converts  are  young 
men  from  our  school.  It  is  almost  entirely  through  our  day- 
school  that  we  have  so  far  gained  access  for  the  truth  into  the 
hearts  of  this  people." 

"  The  members  of  the  Flandreau  church  belong  to  a  colony  of 
Indians  (numbering  in  all  about  3(50)  who  left  the  Santee  agency, 
Nebraska,  three  yeai-s  ago,  determined  to  become  citizens  and 
live  like  white  men.  By  that  act  they  cut  themselves  loose  from 
the  tribe,  and  have  no  oversight  nor  receive  any  aid  from  the 
Indian  Department  since.  They  are  therefore  poor,  but  believing 
the  gospel  is  the  corner-stone  of  civilization,  they  cling  to  that 
and  labor  on  with  hope.  They  are  principally  from  that  portion 
of  the  Santee  tribe  with  which  the  Messrs.  Pond  labored  so  long 
and  earnestly,  seeing  but  little  fruit  until  the  massacre  in  Minne- 
sota, ten  years  ago  (i.  e.  1862).  This  was  followed  by  a  great 
awakening.  The  majority  of  the  700  members  of  the  nine  Presby- 
terian churches  among  the  Dakotas  were  converted  at  that  time. 
The  generous  aid  of  friends,  given  through  the  Memorial  Com- 
mittee, enabled  the  Flandreau  church  to  erect  a  neat  little 
meeting-house,  worth  something  over  $1000.  To  this  they  are 
dearly  attached,  and  can  only  be  kept  away  on  Sabbath  by  the 
severest  necessity.  One  of  the  stormy  days  last  winter,  Paksikan, 
a  man  so  deformed  in  his  legs  that  I  had  imagined  he  could 
scarcely  walk  forty  rods,  walked  eight  miles  to  church.  His 
clothes  were  so  thin  he  was  afraid  to  ride  lest  he  should  freeze  to 
death."  The  history  of  these  churches  during  the  fourteen  years 
since  they  were  transferred  to  our  Board  has  been  one  of  constant 
progress.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-six  members  have  been 
received  during  that  time.  The  present  number  is  262.  Mr. 
Williamson  has  continued  in  charge  of  the  church  and  mission 
work  at  Yankton  agency,  while  that  at  Flandreau  has  had 
native  pastors.  In  1877  Rev.  John  Eastman,  a  native,  was 
installed  as  pastor  by  the  Presbytery  of  Dakota,  with  excellent 
prospects  of  usefulness.  It  added  to  the  interest  of  the  occasion 
that,  besides  the  pastor,  two  of  those  who  took  part  in  the 
installation  were  full-blooded  Dakotas  who  fourteen  years  before 
had  been  heathen. 

On  the  last  day  of  December,  1877,  a  new  church  near 
Yankton  agency  was  organized,  called  the  Hill  church.  It  has 
steadily  prospered  and  has  now  sixty-one  membei-s. 

The  missionary  spii'it  in  this  mission  is  illustrated  by  a  long 
journey  made  by  two  native  Christians  to  carry  the  gospel  to 

U 


22  msTOKICAI-    SKKTCII    OF    THK    MISSIONS 

some  familit^  of  tluir  tnl)c'  living:  near  the  JJritish  Territory. 
They  nii't  with  a  warm  welcome,  found  several  membere  of  the 
ehureh,  to  whom  the  communion  was  administered,  and  four  new 
memi)ers  were  received.  There  is  also  among  them  a  native  Mis- 
sionary Society.  The  society  has  three  native  missionaries,  and 
!U.S  members.     Its  contributions  last  year  amounted  to  8908.33. 

In  ISSO  a  school  was  ojM^ned  at  Poplar  Creek,  Montana,  70 
niiles  from  Fort  Buford,  by  Miss  Dickson  and  INIiss  McCreight, 
anions  the  "wildest"  Indians  of  the  northwest.  Rev.  George 
Wood  and  wife  were  also  stationed  here.  In  1883,  a  new  station 
was  opened  at  Wolf  Point,  20  miles  from  Poplar  Creek,  and  Mr. 
Wood  was  transferred  to  this  station,  while  Kev.  M.  E.  Chapin 
and  wife  were  sent  to  the  former  point.  These  two  stations  are 
within  reach  of  about  3000  Indians. 

The  Presbyterians  among  the  Dakotas  are  organized  into  a 
Presbytery  of  their  own,  with  eleven  churches  and  700  members. 
There  are  twelve  ministers,  of  whom  nine  are  natives.  The 
total  church  contributions  in  the  Presbytery  during  the  year 
1884-85,  were  about  S2000,  or  nearly  $3  per  member. 

The  account  of  this  mission  would  be  incomplete  without  a 
brief  notice  of  its  founder,  the  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Williamson, 
liorn  in  South  Carolina;  a  graduate  of  Jefferson  College  in 
1S20;  a  skillful  physician  of  ten  years'  practice;  in  1833  he 
and  his  wife  gave  themselves  up  to  their  life-work  among  the 
Indians.  He  was  appointed  in  1835  missionary  among  the 
Dakotas,  by  the  American  Board,  and  remained  faithful  to  the 
work  for  forty -four  years.  "  He  had  unshaken  faith  in  his  .work, 
and  was,  by  his  capacity  for  severe  exertion  and  by  systematic 
persevering  industry,  enabled  to  accomplish  an  almost  incredible 
amount  of  labor."  In  addition  to  preaching,  he  was  occupied, 
in  connection  with  Dr.  S.  R.  Riggs,  in  translating  the  Scriptures 
into  Dakota,  and  lived  to  see  the  work  accomplished.  He  lived 
to  see  among  the  Dakotas  ten  ordained  Presbyterian  ministers, 
and  about  800  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  "  Perhaps 
no  man  was  ever  blessed  with  a  helpmeet  more  adapted  to  his 
wants  than  the  lovely,  cheerful,  quiet,  systematic  Christian  wife 
who  for  forty-five  years  of  perfect  harmony  encouraged  him  in 
his  labors."  She  preceded  him  to  their  heavenly  home  by  several 
years,  having  departed  in  1872.  "  He  died  on  Tuesday,  June  24, 
187!),  in  the  morning  watch." 

<).  TiiK  Nez  Pek(MO  MisfsiON. — This  tribe,  in  number  about  , 
8200,  occupy  a  reservation  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  Idaho. 
A  mi.ssion  was  conducted  among  them  from   1838  to  1M47  by  the 
American   Board,  when  the  Indians,  through  the  instigation  of 
Romish  i)ric8ts,  fell  upon  the  station,  killed  Dr.  "Whitman  and 


AMONG   TUB    NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS.  23 

others,  and  broke  up  the  mission.  Our  Board,  having  decided 
in  1871  to  occupy  the  field,  appointed  Kev.  H.  H.  Spalding  and 
wife,  Avho  had  formerly  labored  among  them,  and  Kev.  II.  T. 
Cowley  and  wife,  to  the  mission.  Mr.  Spalding  was  stationed  at 
Lapwai,  and  Mr.  Cowley  at  Kamia,  sixty  miles  to  the  southeast 
of  Lapwai.  Mr.  Spalding  received  a  warm  welcome  from  the 
Indians.  His  religious  services  were  attended  by  large  numbers, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out  in  a 
remarkable  measure.  During  his  first  year  he  was  permitted  to 
baptize  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  converts.  Mr.  Cowley's 
labors  also  shared  in  the  blessings,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
converts  were  baptized  by  him. 

A  number  of  schools  had  been  established  by  the  government 
among  these  Indians,  and  the  missionaries  were  invited  to  take 
the  oversight  of  them,  Avhich  they  did.  In  addition,  Mr.  Spalding 
had  a  number  of  boarding-scholars  in  his  o^vn  family.  In  the 
school  at  Kamia  seventy -three  scholars  were  enrolled  in  1872. 

Mr.  Cowley  retired  from  the  mission  in  1873,  and  Mr.  George 
Ainslie  Avas  appointed  in  his  stead.  In  1874  seventy-two  Nez 
Perces  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-three  Spokans  (a  neighboring 
tribe)  are  reported  as  having  been  baptized,  making  the  entire 
number  nine  hundred  and  forty-seven.  They  do  not  all  seem, 
however,  to  have  been  regularly  received  into  the  church,  and 
later  reports  show  that  many  of  them  went  back  to  their  old  life 
again. 

In  1874  Mr.  Spalding  died  on  the  field.  Mr.  Ainslie  and  the 
other  teachers,  who  were  supported  by  the  Indian  school  funds, 
remained  at  their  posts.  No  other  missionary  was  sent  out  by 
the  Board  till  1878,  when  Rev.  G.  L.  Defienbaugh  was  appointed. 
AVhen  he  entered  upon  his  work  he  made  a  careful  search  for 
church  members.  Three  hundred  and  fifty-one  were  found,  and 
the  church  placed  in  intimate  connection  with  the  Presbytery  of 
Oregon.  The  Spokan  church  was  also  reorganized  with  a  mem- 
bership of  92.  A  third  church  was  organized  at  Deep  Creek,  in 
Wyoming  Territory,  June  12,  1880,  with  89  members;  a  fourth 
on  the  Umatilla  Reserve,  Oregon,  June,  1882,  with  28  members; 
and  a  fifth  at  Wellpinit,  W.  T.,  July,  1882,  among  the  Spokans. 
There  have  been  added  to  them  146  persons  in  the  last  four 
years.  The  number  of  communicants  reported  to  the  General 
Assembly  this  year,  (1885)  is  668.  Few  missions  of  the  church 
have  enjoyed  greater  proofs  of  the  blessing  of  God  than  have 
been  granted  of  late  years  to  the  w^ork  among  these  Indians. 

The  schools,  though  under  the  charge  of  an  Indian  agent, 
nevertheless  constantly  claim  some  of  the  time  and  attention  of 
the  missionary  laborers.     One  school  additional  to  these  deserves 


24  HISTORICAL   .SKETCH    OF    THE    MISSIONS 

esjwcial  notice.  Miss  Sue  L.  McBeth,  who  had  for  several  years 
been  a  government  teaolier  among  the  Nez  Perces,  in  1877,  and 
her  sister,  Miss  Kate  C.  Mclietli,  in  1871>,  were  appointed  mis- 
sionary teachers  by  the  Board,  being  supported  l)y  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  Pliihidelphia.  Jn  addition  to 
their  other  work  they  are  conducting  training-chisses,  the  former 
of  men,  and  the  latter  of  women,  with  the  design  of  fitting  those 
who  attend,  for  special  and  imjiortant  work  among  their  own 
people.  These  classes  have  been  greatly  blessed  and  have  proved 
very  successful.  From  ^liss  H.  L.  McBeth's  theological  class 
have  already  come  several  who  have  entered  the  ministry  and 
give  promise  of  great  usefulness.  There  are  engaged  in  this 
mission  seven  ordained  native  ministers,  besides  several  licensed 
preachers,  many  of  whom  have  been  prepared  in  the  above 
named  school. 

The  remnant  of  Joseph's  Band,  which  eight  years  ago  on 
their  surrender  were  banished  to  the  Indian  Territory,  has  just 
returned  to  their  mother  home.  The  faithfulness  of  two  young 
ministei-s  who  accompanied  them  was  not  lost  on  Joseph's  people. 
They  have  been  led  in  a  way  they  knew  not.  Tiieir  new  camp 
is  a  place  of  gospel  hymns  and  prayers. 

The  Nez  Perces  in  Idaho  are  now  a  settled  people,  many  of 
them  prizing  the  fruits  of  industry  and  the  blessings  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  work  of  former  years  has  not  been  in  vain,  but  much 
still  remains  to  be  done  before  they  become  fully  a  civilized  and 
Christian  people.     The  field  is  one  of  great  promise. 

IV. — Among  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest. 

1.  The  Creek  Mission  was  commenced  in  1842.  These 
Indians,  numbering  about  twenty  thousand,  liad  been  forcibly 
removed  in  1837  from  their  homes  in  Alabama  and  Georgia  and 
settled  in  the  Indian  Territory.  The  American  Board  had  had 
missions  among  them  from  1832  till  18.'J7.  In  the  latter  year 
the  Creeks,  instigated  by  neighboring  whites,  with  slanderous 
charges  petitioned  the  United  States  agent  to  remove  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  they  were  summarily  expelled  without  a  hearing. 
The  Indians  had  come  to  their  new  homes  soured  and  disap- 
pointed, and  but  little  disposed  for  efforts  of  self-improvement. 

For  several  years  they  were  destitute  of  any  religious  instruc- 
tion whatever.  In  the  fall  of  1841,  Kev.  R.  M.  Loughridge,  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Tuscaloosa,  was  appointed  missionary  and 
sent  to  make  a  visit  of  incjuiry  and  examination,  furnished  with 
letters  from  the  War  Department  and  from  the  Board  to  the 
chiefs.  In  January,  1842,  he  received  permission  from  the 
council  to  commence  a  mission  and  to  establish  a  school. 


AMONG   THK   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS.  25 

Mr.  Loughridge  entered  regularly  on  the  work  early  in  1843, 
selecting  a  station  named  Kovveta,  a  point  on  the  Arkansas 
river  convenient  to  several  Indian  towns.  The  school  was 
opened  in  June,  1843,  with  six  scholars  ;  but  the  numbers  soon 
increased.  The  teaching  was  altogether  in  English.  The  boarding- 
school  was  not  commenced  till  1845,  and  the  number  of  scholars 
was  at  first  limited  to  twenty  for  want  of  room.  The  parents 
were  so  anxious,  however,  to  have  their  children  placed  in  the 
school  that,  though  poor,  they  offered  to  bring  for  their  support 
any  articles  they  could  raise  from  their  gardens  and  farms.  For 
the  purpose  of  increasing  the  school  facilities,  the  Indians  agreed 
that  a  part  of  their  annuities  should  be  applied  to  educational 
purposes  ;  and  in  1848  a  much  larger  house  was  built  at  Koweta, 
and  at  Tullahassee,  sixteen  miles  east  of  Koweta,  a  still  larger 
one,  capable  of  accommodating  eighty  boarding  scholars,  was 
commenced.  To  these  schools  they  gave  $6000  and  agreed  to 
pay  $50  per  scholar  yearly. 

The  missionaries  were  early  convinced  that  the  manual-labor 
boarding-school  was  far  superior  to  the  day-school  plan,  and, 
indeed,  that  it  was  the  only  system  by  which  the  teacher  can  fully 
accomplish  his  appropriate  work,  that  work  being  not  merely  to 
teach  the  lessons,  but  to  "  improve  the  manners,  to  reform  the 
morals,  to  undermine  and  destroy  deep-rooted  and  enslaving 
superstition,  to  lay,  in  short,  the  foundations  of  social,  civil,  and 
religious  happiness." 

The  school  at  Tullahassee  soon  received  its  full  complement  of 
scholars,  40  boys  and  40  girls,  and  for  several  years  this  number 
remained  the  same.  Some  years  the  attendance  reached  100, 
and  in  1861,  121  Avere  enrolled.  It  was  manned  by  a  full  corps 
of  teachei-s  under  Mr.  Loughridge  and  Rev.  W.  S.  Robertson. 
But  this  prosperity  was  brought  to  a  sudden  close  by  the  civil 
war.  Most  of  the  Indians  joined  the  South  in  1861,  and  all 
missionary  operations  in  this  region  were  stopped. 

These  schools  had  been  a  great  blessing  to  the  Creek  Nation. 
Several  hundreds,  both  men  and  women,  had  received  a  Christian 
education  in  them,  some  of  whom  went  forth  to  teach  in  neigh- 
boring schools,  several  entered  the  sacred  ministry,  and  a  large 
number  settled  down  as  peaceable  and  industrious  citizens. 

When  the  storm  of  war  had  swept  by,  the  Board  determined 
to  re  establish  the  mission,  and  in  1866,  Rev.  W.  S.  Robertson 
and  wife  returned  to  the  field.  The  school  was  re-established, 
and  was  soon  filled  to  its  capacity.  The  building  was  burned  in 
December,  1880,  and  the  school  was  disbanded  again  for  a  time, 
until  temporary  buildings  could  be  provided  by  the  Council. 
The  school  at  Tullahassee  was   continued   till  1882,  when  the 


26  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF   TIIK    MISSIONS 

boanlinjr-scliool  •was  removed  to  Wcalaka,  under  the  ehargo  of 
Rev.  K.  M.  Loii^di ridge  and  wife,  who  liad  returned  to  tlie  field 
in  IW\.  The  Creek  trustees  then  gave  the  station  farm  with  its 
appurtenances  over  to  be  used  as  a  nianualdabor  school  for 
colored  children.  The  school  at  Wealaka  lias  been  very  pros- 
perous, being  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity. 

There  are  now  two  churches  in  connection  with  the  mission, 
one  at  North  Fork,  and  one  at  Wealaka,  with  an  aggregate  of 
119  members. 

A  severe  loss  befell  the  mission  in  the  death  of  Rev.  W.  S. 
Robertson,  who  for  more  than  thirty  years  devoted  himself  to 
the  good  of  this  peojjlc.  Pie  rested  from  his  laboi-s,  June,  \^8l. 
Mr.  Loughridge  writes  of  him  :  "  His  whole  heart  seemed  to  be 
devotetl  to  the  education  of  the  Indian  youth,  and  he  has  done 
a  got)(l  work,  which  shows  itself  everywhere  throughout  the 
Creek  Nation.  His  influence  will  doubtless  be  felt  for  genera- 
tions to  come."  Mrs.  Robertson  remains  in  the  mission  to  which 
she  devoted  her  life,  and  has  completed  the  translation  of  the 
New  Testament,  for  which  she  was  so  excellently  fitted  by  her 
familiarity  with  both  the  Greek  and  the  Creek  languages. 

Considerable  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  have  also  been 
translated  into  the  Muscogee,  and  also  catechisms,  readers,  etc. 

The  Creeks  are  now  counted  among  the  civilized  tribes.  They 
dress  and  live  like  white  people.  Over  $28,000  ai-e  expended 
annually  for  educational  purposes.  More  than  3500  of  the  people 
can  read  and  write.  They  are  making  progress  in  temperance, 
in  industry,  in  morals  and  in  religion.  That  this  is  to  be 
attributed  in  a  very  high  degree  to  the  Christian  missions  estab- 
lished among  them,  is  seen  simply  from  the  fact  that  these  results 
are  the  most  apparent  where  the  tribe  has  had  the  most  intimate 
relations  with  missionary  labor  in  schools  and  in  preaching  the 
gospel. 

2.  The  Seminole  Mission. — The  Seminole  Indians,  originally 
from  Florida,  were  removed  by  the  government  to  the  Indian 
Territory  in  1832,  and,  l)eing  of  the  language  and  lineage  of  the 
Creeks,  were  settled  within  the  Creek  reservation. 

The  Board  desired  to  establish  a  mission  among  them  as  early 
as  1845,  and  Mr.  Loughridge,  of  the  Creek  mission,  visited 
them ;  but  though  welcomed  by  some,  he  was  opposed  by  others 
who  did  not  want  the  ways  of  the  white  men,  such  as  "schools, 
preaching,  fiddle-dancing,  card-playing,  and  the  like,"  brougiit 
among  them.  Subsequent  visits  removed  this  feeling  in  some 
measure;  but  it  was  not  till  the  fall  of  1848  that  a  missionary, 
Rev.  John  Lilley,  was  sent  to  them.  An  educated  and  pious 
Seminole,  Mr.  John  Benio,  was  also  employed.     A  station  was 


AMONG  THE   NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS.  27 

selected,  afterwards  called  Oak  Ridge,  one  hundred  miles  from 
Tullahassee.  The  next  year  a  boarding-school  was  opened  witli 
eleven  pupils.  In  1854,  Mr.  Loughridge  lield  a  meeting  at  Oak 
Ridge  and  organized  a  church,  when  two  native  members  were 
received,  and  a  deep  religious  interest  awakened  in  many  minds. 
The  good  work  continued,  and  the  next  year  Mr.  Templeton,  of 
the  Creek  mission,  Avas  permitted  to  receive  twenty  persons  into 
the  church,  seven  of  them  scholars  of  the  boarding-school.  This 
proved  the  turning  point  in  the  history  of  this  poor  people. 
They  were  on  the  road  to  extinction,  but  the  grace  of  God 
interposed,  and  placed  them  in  the  way  of  social  and  spiritual 
advancement. 

In  1856  Rev.  J.  Ross  Ramsay  joined  the  mission.  He  brought 
to  it  the  experience  of  former  labors  among  the  Creeks,  and  his 
work  Avas  also  speedily  blessed. 

The  school,  which  for  several  years  had  proved  quite  success- 
ful, was  discontinued  in  1859,  because  of  the  unsettled  condition 
of  the  Indians.  They  had  obtained  by  a  treaty  between  the 
government  and  the  Creeks  a  portion  of  the  Creek  country,  at  a 
distance  from  the  station,  and  were  about  to  settle  upon  it. 

Mr.  Ramsay  accompanied  the  Seminoles  to  their  new  country 
and  established  a  new  station  at  Wewoka.  A  church  was  soon 
organized,  composed  of  some  members  from  the  Oak  Ridge 
church,  to  which  others  were  soon  added  on  profession.  Such 
was  the  state  of  the  mission  when  the  war  commenced,  and  all 
these  labors  suddenly  ended. 

After  the  war  was  over,  in  1866,  Mr.  Ramsay,  still  deeply 
interested  in  this  field,  visited  the  Seminoles.  He  reorganized 
the  church,  enrolling  sixty -six  members.  A  blessing  followed 
immediately  in  the  addition  of  thirty- seven  persons  to  the  church. 

In  1884  another  churcli  called  Achena  (=  Cedar),  was  organ- 
ized at  Little  River  with  15  members,  and  a  native  licentiate, 
Mr.  Dorsey  Fife  appointed  its  supply.  It  is  proposed  also  to 
organize  another  church  in  a  new  settlement  soon.  Since  the 
revival  of  the  mission  in  1867,  190  persons  have  been  admitted 
to  the  church.  The  boarding-school  was  re-established  in  1870, 
and  is  still  in  a  very  flourishing  condition  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Ramsay,  having  67  pupils  this  year.  It  is  supported  con- 
jointly by  the  Seminole  nation  and  the  Board. 

3.  The  Choctaw  Mission  grew  out  of  an  offer  in  1845  by 
the  council  of  the  Choctaw  nation  to  transfer  Spencer  Academy 
to  the  care  and  direction  of  the  Board.  The  academy  had  been 
established  by  the  council  in  1842,  and  was  located  eleven  miles 
north  of  Fort  Towsou  on  the  Red  River.  It  had  an  annual 
endowment  of  $  6000  from  the  Choctaws  and  $  2000  from  the 


28  nisTOKKAK  sKprrcn  of  the  missions 

Indian  Dt^partincnt,  to  wliicli,  by  their  agreement,  the  Board 
was  to  aild  82001)  more.  There  were  buildings  to  accommodate 
one  hundred  pupils. 

Kev.  James  li.  Ramsey  was  appointed  superintendent,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties,  with  seven  assistants,  in  184(5.  He 
found  ninety-eight  students  in  attendance.  From  the  fii-st  the 
conduct  and  behavior  of  the  students,  their  ability  to  learn,  their 
attention  to  religious  instruction,  and  their  cheerful  submission 
to  the  rules  of  the  institution,  were  most  satisfactory.  In  1847 
a  church  was  organized,  consisting  of  sixteen  members. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  visited  the  station 
during  the  following  summer,  and  his  report  says:  "There  is 
much  encouragement  in  tlie  present  condition  of  the  Choctaws. 
They  are  all  living  on  farms,  and  sustaining  themselves  by  culti- 
vating the  soil.  Many  of  their  farms  are  well  improved  and 
their  buildings  good.  Many  are  unable  to  speak  a  word  of 
English.  They  are  destitute  of  stated  preaching,  and  need 
neighborhood  schools  and  teachers." 

In  1840  Mrs.  Ramsey  was  removed  by  death,  and  Mr.  Ramsey 
was  obliged  to  retire  from  the  mission  on  account  of  his  health, 
and  some  othere  of  the  missionary  force  also  retired.  Their 
places  were  filled  by  the  Revs.  Alex.  Reid,  C.  R.  Gregory  and 
wife,  and  A.  J.  Graham.  The  w'ork  in  the  seminary,  in  addition 
to  the  religious  services  and  instructions,  required  the  constant 
labors  of  all  this  force.  From  this  school  were  to  come  ministers, 
physicians,  legislator,  judges,  lawyers,  and  teachers.  That  it 
was  blessed  in  its  religious  influence  is  seen  in  the  fiict  that  six- 
teen of  the  scholars  were  admitted  to  the  church  in  1849. 

The  following  years  were  years  of  progress  and  encourage- 
ment. Tiie  numbers  in  the  school  sometimes  reached  120  or 
130;  and  Mr.  Reid  said,  in  1855,  that  "he  could  get  500  pupils 
into  the  school  on  a  few  days  notice,  if  they  were  open  to  receive 
and  instruct  so  many."  In  preaching  tours  the  missionaries  in 
all  the  Councils  met  the  "  Spencer  boys ;"  so  it  was  evident  that 
the  academy  was  a  fountain  sending  forth  influences  all  over  the 
Choctaw  Nation.  The  most  eager  desire  was  also  everywhere 
manifested,  often  by  large  audiences,  to  hear  the  gospel  preached. 
The  Report  for  1853  says :  "  In  every  ])art  of  the  Choctaw 
Nation,  where  there  is  a  settlement  of  people,  there  is  an  urgent 
cry  for  a  missionary  and  a  school.  But  their  entire  wants  can 
only  be  8uj)plied  by  their  own  educated  sons  and  daughter. 
Hence  the  vital  importance  of  religious  education,  and  especially 
the  importance  of  Spencer  Academy,  which  receives  scholars 
from  every  ])art  of  the  nation." 

Tiie  year  1854  was  signalized  by  a  great  work  of  grace  at  one 


AMONG   TIIK    NOKTII    AMERICAN    INDIANS.  29 

of  the  preaching  points  called  Six-towns.  Deeply  interesting 
meetings  were  held,  and  "  in  less  than  one  year  between  90  and 
100  were  gatliered  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  gave  the  most 
satisfactory  evidence  of  their  conversion.  Upwards  of  sixty 
children  were  baptized." 

The  same  blessed  influences  were  felt  the  next  year.  At 
another  "big  meeting,"  between  sixty  and  seventy  expressed 
concern  for  their  souls,  and  thirty  persons  were  received  into  the 
church,  of  whom  ten  were  students  of  the  academy,  making  125 
within  the  year.  The  result  was  the  establishment  of  a  church 
at  Six-towns,  and  a  station  there. 

The  same  year — 1856 — a  female  boarding-school  was  opened 
at  Good  Water,  one  of  the  old  stations  of  the  American  Board. 
Rev.  H.  Balentine  with  a  corps  of  teachers  entered  upon  the 
work  there  It  was  designed  to  accommodate  forty-four  pupils,  and 
was  soon  filled,  besides  having  many  day-scholars  in  attendance. 
Regular  religious  services  w'ere  kept  up  at  seven  different  jjoints, 
at  several  of  which  the  Indians  had  built  neat  log  churches,  and 
small  houses  for  the  Saturday  and  Sabbath-schools  before  men- 
tioned. The  number  of  communicants  in  the  churches  in  1859 
was  213;  of  scholars,  171. 

In  1859  the  mission  was  greatly  enlarged  by  the  transfer  to  it 
of  the  missions  previously  conducted  by  the  American  Board. 
The  mission  as  transferred  comprised  seven  ordained  missionaries, 
among  whom  were  the  venerable  Rev.  Cyrus  Kingsbury  and  Rev. 
Cyrus  Byington,  six  native  preachers  and  helpers,  ten  stations, 
twelve  churches  and  an  aggregate  membership  of  1467.  There 
were  three  day  and  three  boarding-schools,  Avith  a  school  roll  of 
445  scholars. 

The  mission  was  greatly  blessed  during  the  year.  In  several 
of  the  churches  additions  were  made,  and  a  new  church  of  forty- 
eight  members  was  organized  at  a  station  called  Jack's  Forks. 
The  prospects  for  successful  Avork  for  the  Master  Avere  bright, 
Avhen  the  Avar  swept  Avith  its  blighting  influence  over  the  field, 
and  brought  all  to  an  end  before  another  year  had  passed.  A 
large  number  of  the  missionaries  and  teachers  Avere  compelled 
to  AvithdraAV,  but  many  of  the  older  Avorkers  remained  Avith  the 
churches 

In  1882,  the  Spencer  Academy,  which  had  for  several  years 
been  under  the  care  of  the  Southern  Church,  Avas  relinquished 
by  them.  It  Avas  again  taken  under  the  care  of  our  Board,  and 
Rev.  O.  P.  Stark  appointed  superintendent.  A  ncAV  building 
Avas  erected  by  the  Council  in  a  better  location,  and  the  number 
of  students  is  now  nearly  100.  Mr.  Stark  died  in  1888,  and 
Rev  H.  R.  Schermerhorn  is  left  in  charge  of  the  school. 


30  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF    THE    MiaSIOXS 

4.  The  Chickasaw  Mission. — The  Chickasaws  also  occupy  a 
reservation  in  the  Indian  Territory,  west  of  the  Choctaws,  and 
bordering  on  the  Texas  line.  They  number  about  six  thousand. 
Tlie  mission  among  tliem  has  been  in  great  part  educational,  and 
aro.se  out  of  a  proposal  of  the  Indian  Department,  in  1849,  to 
place  under  the  direction  of  the  lioard  a  boarding-school  for 
girls,  to  contain  eighty  or  a  hundred  scholars,  offering  to  erect 
the  buildings  and  to  furnish  funds  for  the  support  of  the  school. 
Similar  schools  had  been  ])laced  under  the  care  of  the  P^piscopal 
and  Southern  Methodist  Churches.  The  Board  accepted  the 
pro})osition,  and  api)ointed  Mr.  J.  S.  Allen  to  superintend  the 
erection  of  buildings.  Various  hindrances  prevented  the  com- 
pletion of  them,  however,  till  1852,  when  the  school  was  opened 
with  forty  scholars.  The  Chickasaws  manifested  the  greatest 
interest  in  the  work — so  much  so  that  their  council  voted  six 
thousand  dollars  additional  to  complete  the  buildings. 

Two  stations  were  occupied,  Wapanucka,  where  the  girls' 
seminary  was  situated,  with  Kev.  H.  Balentine  as  superinten- 
dent, and  Boggy  De])ot,  where  Rev.  A.  M.  AVatson  and  wife 
were  stationed.  A  force  of  nine  teachers  and  assistants  was  on 
the  ground  in  1853,  and  the  school  opened  with  bright  prospects. 
A  church  was  formed  at  Boggy  Depot  in  1852 ;  another  at 
Wapanucka  is  reported  in  1855.  Rev.  Allen  Wright,  a  native 
preacher,  was  stationed  at  Boggy  Depot  in  1860. 

The  school,  notwithstanding  hindrances  from  a  too  frequent 
change  of  teachers,  yet  accomplished  a  noble  work.  Many 
hundred  girls  were  educated  there  in  all  that  would  fit  them  for 
usefulness  in  their  nation.  In  1800,  inasmuch  as  the  Indians 
were  not  willing  to  make  such  pecuniary  provision  as  the  com- 
mittee thought  necessary  to  keep  the  school  in  efficient  opera- 
tion, and  as  they  seemed  desirous  of  undertaking  the  management 
of  it  themselves,  the  Board  yielded  to  their  wish,  and  its  connec- 
tion with  the  school  ceased. 

Missionary  labors  were  still  carried  on  at  the  two  stations  and 
four  or  live  preaching  points  within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles. 
The  blessing  of  (iod  rested  upon  these  labors. 

The  last  report  of  the  state  of  the  church  is  that  of  1859,  when 
there  were  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  members  in  the  two 
churches. 

This  is  also  one  of  the  missions  that  was  brought  to  a  sudden 
close  by  the  civil  war.  The  Board  has  never  resumed  operations 
among  these  Indians. 

As  to  their  present  condition,  they  are  one  of  those  known  as 
'•  The  Five  Civilized  Tribes  ;  "  3600  out  of  the  6000  CJin  read  ; 
$58,000  were  expended  in  1879-80   for   educational   purposes. 


AMONG   THE   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS.  31 

They  dress  like  the  whites,  are  a  progressive  people,  and  have 
many  wealthy  citizens.  There  are  six  churches  and  six  mis- 
sionaries of  other  denominations  among  them. 

5.  Indian  Missions  in  New  Mexico. — There  are  about 
23,000  Indians  connected  with  the  different  government  agencies 
in  New  Mexico.  Of  these  the  Board  has  attempted  missionary 
operations  among  the  Navajoes,  numbering  about  ^000,  and 
the  Pueblo  or  Village  Indians,  about  7000  in  number.  Both 
of  these  tribes  are  described  as  partially  civilized,  temperate, 
truthful,  friendly,  and  willing  to  have  schools  oj^ened  for  their 
children. 

In  1868  Rev.  J.  M.  Roberts  and  wife  were  appointed  mis- 
sionaries to  the  Navajoes.  Mr.  Roberts  gathered  together  a 
small  number  of  children,  and  thus  commenced  his  work.  As 
no  good  interpreter  could  be  obtained  he  was  not  able  to  hold 
religious  services  nor  conversation. 

In  1870  Rev.  J.  Menaul  and  wife  Avere  also  sent  to  this 
mission ;  but  Mr.  Menaul  soon  accepted  an  appointment  to 
medical  work  under  the  agency.  Mrs.  Menaul  conducted  very 
successfully  a  school  of  about  thirty  scholars. 

In  1872  Mr.  Roberts  received  an  appointment  as  teacher 
among  the  Pueblos.  A  number  of  other  teachers  were  nomi- 
nated by  the  Board  at  different  times  and  labored  among  these 
Indians,  being  suppoi'ted  by  the  Indian  department.  Of  their 
missionary  labors,  however,  we  have  no  report. 

This  kind  of  work  was  continued  under  many  discouragements, 
the  Board  having  expended  about  $13,000  in  all,  until  1877, 
when  the  Presbytery  of  Santa  Fe  placed  the  work  under  the 
charge  of  the  Home  Mission  Board,  by  which  it  has  been  carried 
on  since  that  time. 

The  Home  Board  in  1884,  had  19  schools  among  the  Indians 
in  New  INIexico,  Indian  Territory,  Oregon,  Washington  Territory, 
and  Alaska,  and  employed  53  missionary  teachers.  The  work 
in  these  schools  is  in  a  generally  prosperous  condition,  though 
full  statistics  cannot  be  given.  There  are  also  quite  a  number  of 
flourishing  Indian  churches  in  these  fields,  under  the  fostering 
care  of  the  Board.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  Foreign  Board 
in  1885  shows  that  there  were  in  the  field  during  the  last  year 
forty  ministers,  of  whom  twenty-four  are  Indians,  and  56  other 
laborers,  of  whom  20  are  natives;  1184  communicants  are  re- 
ported in  the  churches,  and  476  scholars  in  the  mission  schools. 

During  the  48  years  of  the  existence  of  the  Foreign  Board, 
453  missionaries  of  all  classes,  have  been  engaged  in  these  mis- 
sions. The  Board  has  expended  for  the  Indians  $525,000,  the 
free  gift  of  our  churches,  besides  $520,000,  entrusted  to  it  by  the 
government  for  educational  work. 


:\'>  mSTOKKWI-    SKETCH    OF    TIIK    MISSIONS 

Over  3(M»0  jtersoiis  liavo  been  hrouglit,  during  that  time,  from 
heathenism  into  the  Chri.stian  Chureh  (i.  e.,  exckisive  of  nearly 
liOlM)  transferred  from  the  Ameriean  Board,  converts  among  the 
Choctaws,  the  Senecas,  and  the  Dak(jtas),  besides  many  tiiou- 
saiids  more  wlio  liave  been  eh'vated  in  character  and  morals  by 
tlie  l>il)le  light  and  intluence  around  them,  who  never  united 
Avith  tlie  church.  At  least  60i)0  children  have  been  taught 
in  the  mission  schools,  besides  great  numl)(.'rs  more  who  have 
received  instruction  in  the  government  schools,  and  thus  in  a 
high  degree  l)een  prei)ared  for  useful  lives. 

"These  missions  were  certainly  the  chief  agencies  in  the  civili- 
zation, or  semi-civilization  of  many  tribes, — the  Senecas,  some  of 
the  Chippewa  and  Dakota  bands,  the  Omahas,  lowas,  Creeks, 
Seminoles,  Choctaws  and  others.  Closely  connected  with  this 
great  progress  in  civilization,  and  indeed  its  main  cause,  has 
been  the  work  of  grace  in  various  tribes,  wdiich  (rod  has  given 
for  the  encouragement  of  his  peo])lc.  One  of  the  fruits  of  divine 
grace  thus  manifested  is  the  signal  fact  that  over  80  Indian 
preachers,  licentiates  and  other  native  laborers  are  now  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Board.  During  the  hist  six  years  64  laborers  were 
sent  forth."     (Record  1885,  j).  6.)). 

Missions  ax'e  also  carried  on  among  the  Indians  by  the  Presby- 
terian Home  Board,  the  ]\Iethodists,  Baptists,  Episcopalians, 
American  Board,  Southern  Presbyterians,  Southern  Baptists, 
Southern  ^Methodists,  Moravians,  and  Friends. 

The  total  Indian  population  of  the  United  States  (exclusive 
of  Alaska,  30,  178)  is,  according  to  the  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1884,  204,369.  Of  these  146,642 
are  in  "citizen's  dress,"  a  phrase  that  perhaps  describes  well 
the  general,  greatly  varying  condition  of  those  who  may  be 
considered  civilized,  while  nearly  12,000  of  their  children  are 
receiving  education  in  schools  of  various  kinds. 


Missionaries  among  the  Indians. 

[Native  helpers  in  Ilalics.] 

Seneca  Mission. —  Upper  Odtaraugiis:  Cattaraugus  Reserva- 
tion, Western  New  York  ;  Mission  begun,  1811;  transferred  to 
the  Board,  1870;  Mrs.  Asher  Wright,  Rev.  Morton  F.  Trippe 
and  his  wife;  three  native  assistants.  Lower  Cattaraur/ us:  on 
the  same  Reservation;  one  native  helper.  ifSabdatlons:  on  Tona- 
wanda  and  Tuscarora  Reserves,  Western  New  York ;  Rev.  Henry 
Silverheels,  on  Tonawanda. 


AMONG    TIIK   NORTH    AMERIf'AN    INDIANS.  38 

Al/cf/hany:  Alleghany  Reservation,  Western  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania;  Rev.  William  Hall;  one  native  licentiate  preacher 
and  two  other  helpers. 

Lake  Superior  Chtprewa  Mission.  —  Odanuh:  on  Bad 
River  Reservation,  in  the  northwestern  j)art  of  Wisconsin,  the 
Reservation  fronting  on  Lake  Superior;  transferred  to  the  Board, 
1870;  missionary  work  resumed,  1871 ;  Rev.  Henry  Blatclijord; 
Mrs.  Minnie  Ells,  teacher. 

Lac  de  Flambeau:  on  Reservation  of  the  same  name;  station 
begun,  1885;    Rev.  Francis  Specs  and  his  wife. 

Lac  Cour  d' Oreilles :  on  the  Reservation  of  the  same  name; 
station  begun,  1883;  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Wright.  Outstations:  on 
this  Reserve  at  Round  Lake,  8  miles  from  Lac  Cour  d'Oreilles, 
and  Puhquauhwong,  17  miles  from  the  station;  Misses  Susie  and 
Cornelia  H.  Dougherty,  teachers  at  the  former ;  Edwin  Green, 
licentiate  preacher  at  the  latter. 

Dakota  Mission. —  Yankton  Agency,  Dakota  Territory:  on 
the  Missouri  River,  (iO  miles  above  Yankton ;  station  occupied, 
1869;  Rev.  John  P.  Williamson  and  his  wife;  Miss  Nancy 
Hunter,  teacher ;  Hev.  Henry  T.  Selwyn.  Outstations,  four ;  native 
helpers,  three — of  whom  one  is  a  licentiate. 

Flandreau,  Dakota  Territory :  on  Big  Sioux  River,  40  miles 
above  Sioux  Falls;  station  occupied,  1869;  Rev.  John  Eastman. 

Pojylar  Creek,  Montana  Territory :  on  the  Missouri  River,  70 
miles  above  Fort  Buford ;  station  occupied,  1880 ;  Miss  Jennie 
B.  Dickson,  Miss  Charlotte  C.  McCreight.  Outstations,  two ; 
native  teachers,  two. 

Wolf  Point,  Montana  Territory :  on  the  Missouri  River,  20 
miles  from  Poplar  Creek;  station  occupied,  1883;  Missionaries, 
Rev.  George  Wood,  Jr.,  and  his  wife. 

Omaha  Mission. — Blackbird  Hills,  Nebraska:  on  the  Missouri 
River,  about  70  miles  above  Omaha  City;  Mission  begun,  1846; 
Rev.  William  Hamilton  and  his  wife ;  Mr.  John  T.  Copley  and 
his  wife;  Mrs.  Margaret  C.  Wade,  Miss  Margaret  C.  Fetter,  Miss 
Mary  L.  Barnes,  and  one  native  female  assistant. 

Winnebago  Mission. —  Winnebago:  near  Omaha;  Mission 
work  resumed,  1881 ;  Rev.  Samuel  N.  D.  Martin  and  his  wife. 

Iowa  and  Sac  Mission. — Station,  near  Highland,  Kansas: 
Mission  work  resumed,  1881 ;  Rev.  Samuel  M.  Irvin  and  his  wife. 

Sac  and  Fox  Mission. — Station,  near  Tama  City,  Iowa;  Mis- 
sion work  begun,  1883;  Miss  Anna  Skea. 

Creek  Mission. — Eufaula:  Rev.  Robert  C.  McGee.  North 
Fork,  near  Eufaula  :  native  licentiate. 

Ockmulgee:  Rev.  Robert  M.  Loughridge  and  his  wife. 

Wealaka:  Rev.  Jeremiah  N.  Diament,  Mr.  Jacob  P.  AVhite- 
head    and    their    wives ;    Mr.    R.   M.    Freeland,    Miss    Mary 


34 


msTOKICAL   .SKKnil    OF    TIIK    M[SSlOX8 


Whitehead,  ^liss  L.  P.  Whitehead,  Miss  Lydia  Keys,  Miss  Addie 
Welcli ;  one  native  licentiate  jn-eacher.      Ouhtation:  Tulsa. 

Mi-s.  William  S.  Robertson,  at  Oekmulgee,  with  her  dau<;hter. 

iSKMiNOLK  Mission.  —  Wewoka,  Indian  Territory:  Mission 
begun.  1S48;  susi)ended,  18(51;  resumed,  1M07;  Rev.  J.  Ross 
Ramsav  and  his  wife  ;  James  Junkin,  M.  D.,  and  his  wife;  Miss 
Adaline  Ramsay,  Miss  Elizabeth  D.  Davis,  Miss  Mary  A. 
Diament,  and  Miss  Susan  Davis;  Jiev.  Koive  Hacho  and  Rev. 
Dorsey  Fife;  three  native  licentiate  preachers;  six  native  helpers. 

Choctaw  Mission. — Spencer  Academy,  Indian  Territory:  Rev. 
Harvey  R.  Schermerhorn  and  his  wife ;  two  teachers  employed 
by  the  missionary  with  the  consent  of  the  Board. 

Nkz  Perces  Mission. — Lajnvai,  Idaho  Territory :  work 
begun,  1838;  Rev.  George  L.  Deffenbaugh  and  his  wife;  two 
native  licentiate  preachers. 

Kamia,  Idaho  Territory:  work  begun,  1838;  Miss  Sue  L. 
McBeth,  Miss  Kate  C.  McBeth  ;  two  native  licentiate  preachers. 
Outs(atio7is,  three ;  native  ministers,  seven. 


Missionaries  Among  the  North  American  Indians. 

*  Died.   +  Transferred  from  the  American  Board.    Figures,  Term  of  Service  in  the  Field 
Weas,  1833-1838. 
183.3-1834       Henderson,  Miss  Nancy, 


Boal,  Miss  ^lartha, 

Brafllev,  Mr.  Henrv,  1834  1838 
Bradley,  Mrs.,         "  1838 

Buslmell,  Ilev.  Wells,  1833-1835 

Buslinell,  Mrs.,  1833-1835 

Duncan,  Mr.  James,  1838. 

Fleming,  Rev.  John,  1837-1838 


Kerr,  Rev.  Joseph, 
Kerr,  Mrs., 
Lindsay,  Mr.  F.  H., 
Lindsay,  Mrs., 
Shepherd,  Mr.  E.  M., 


Chippewas,  1838-1881. 


Baird,  Rev.  Isaac.  1873-1884 

Baird,    Mrs.    (Miss   M.  L. 

Tarbell,  1S72-),  1874-1884 

IJeach,  Miss  P.  A.,  1858-1860 

Bradley,  Mr.  Henrv,  1841-1 84(; 

Bradley,  Mrs.,         '  1841-184G 

Cowlcs,  Miss  H.  L.,  185:^-1854 

Doughertv,  Rev.  Peter,  1838-1871 

Dougherty,  Mrs.,  1840-1871 

Dougherty,  Miss  H.,  18(50-1802 

Dou-rhcrtV,  Miss  S.,  18()2-1866 

DoutrliertV,  Miss  N.,  187:^-1875 

Donuherty,  Miss  S.  A.,  1873- 

Dougliertv,  Miss  C.  H.,  1885- 

EUs,  Mrs.'  M.,  188.5- 

Fleniinu,  Rev.  John,  1838-1839 

Fleming.  Mrs.,  18:38-1839 

Gibson,  Miss  C.  A.,  1859-1862 

Gibson,  Miss  M.  E.,  1862-1865 

Guthrie,  Rev.  H.  W.,  1855-1857 

Isbcll,  Miss  W.  A.,  1853-1859 


Maclarrv,  Miss  M., 
Mills,  Rev.  S.  J., 
Mills,  Mrs.. 

Phillii>s,  Miss  Harriet  N., 
Porter,  Mr.  ,\ndre\v. 
Porter,  Mrs., 
Porter,  Mr.  .John, 
Porter,  Mrs., 
Porter,  Miss  Ann 
Specs,  Rev.  F., 
Specs,  Mrs., 
Turner,  Mr.  J.  G., 
Turner,  Mrs., 
Vcrbeck,  Miss  S., 
Walker,  Miss  Lydia  B., 
Whiteside,  Mr.  J.  K., 
AVliiteside,  Mrs., 
Williamson,  Mr.  A.  W., 
Writrht,  Rev.  S.  G., 
Wright,  Mrs., 


1833-1836 
18.3.3-1837 
18:?:3-1837 
is;r)-1836 
is;r.-1836 
1834-1835 


1879-1884 

1871-1872 

1871-1872 

1871-1875 

1S47-1871 

1847-1871 

1854-1861 

1854-1861 

1852-1868 

1884- 

1884- 

1853-1858 

1853-1858 

1871-1878 

187.3-1875 

1850-1852 

1850-1852 

1872. 

1884- 

1884- 


AMONG    THE    NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


35 


Senegas,  1870-1881. 


^Barker,  Rev.  W.  P., 
Barker,  Airs. 
Ford,  Rev.  G.,t 
«Ford,  Mrs., 
Hall,  Rev.  William,t 


Ballard,  Mr.  Aurey, 
Ballard,  Mrs., 
Bloohm,  Mr.  Paul, 
Bradley,  Mr.  Henry 
Bradley,  Mrs., 
Coon,  Kev.  S.  H., 
Coon,  Mrs., 

D lament.  Miss  Elizabeth, 
Donaldson,  Mrs.  Letitia, 
Fullerton,  Miss  Martha, 
Hamilton,  Rev.  William, 
Hamilton,  Mrs., 
Hardy,  Mrs.  Rosetta, 
Higley,  Miss  Susan  A., 
Irviu,  Mr.  Francis, 
Irvin,  Mrs., 

Irvin,  Rev.  Samuel  M., 
Irvin,  Mrs., 
Lilley,  Miss  Mary 


1877-1880 
1877-1880 
1868-1875 
1868-1875 
1834- 


Hall,  Mrs., 
Trippe,  Rev.  M.  F., 
Trippe,  Mrs., 
svVright,  Rev.  Asherf 
Wright,  Mrs., 


1834-1882 

1881- 
1881- 
1820-1875 
1833- 


lOWAS,  1835-1866. 


1835-1837 
1835-1837 
1845-1846 
1838-1841 
1838-1841 
1845 
1845 
1864-1865 
185.3-1864 
185.5-1860 
1837-1853 
1837-1853 
18.38-1839 
1854-1855 
1841-1847 
1841-1846 
1837-1864 
1837-1864 
1864-1865 


McCain,  Rev.  William, 
McCreary,  Mrs.  R.  B., 
Mc  Kinney,  Rev.  Edmund, 
McKinney,  Mrs. 
Patterson,  Miss  Mary  A., 
Rice,  Rev.  Geora;e  S., 
Robertson,  Rev.  William  S. 
Robertson,  Mrs., 
Rubeti,  Miss  Margaret, 
Siiepherd,  Ur.  Elihu  M., 
Shepherd,  ilrs.. 
Shields,  Miss  Cora  A., 
Turner,  Miss  Anna  M., 
Washburne,  Mrs., 
Waterman,  Miss  S.  A., 
Welch,  Miss  C, 
Williams,  Mr.  James, 
Williams,  Mrs., 
Wilson,  Miss  Sarah  J., 


Omahas,  1846-1881. 


Barnes,  Miss  M.  L.,  1883- 

Betz,  Mr.  Joseph,  1860-1863 

Betz,  Mrs.,  1860-1863 

Black,  Mr.  Isaac,  1860-1,^:57 

Black,  Mrs  ,  1860-1867 

Bloohm,  Mr.  Paul,  1846-1847 

Bower,  Miss  Mary,  1866-1867 

Bryant,  Miss  M.,  1881-1882 

Burtt,  Rev.  Robert  J.,  1860-1866 

Burtt,  Mrs.,  1860-1866 

Copley,  Miss  J.,  1882-1883 

1  )iament.  Miss  Naomi,  1863-1865 

Dillett,  Mr.  James  C,  1853-1855 

Dillett,  Mrs.,  18.53-1855 

Ensign,  Miss  Helen,  1857-1858 

Estill,  Miss  M.  S.,  1880-1881 

Fetter,  Miss  M.C.,  1881- 

FuUerton,  Miss  Martha,  1850-1852 
Hamilton,  Rev.Wm.,  1853-57 ;  1867- 

»Hamilton,  Mrs.,  1853-57;  1867-1868 

Hamilton,  Mrs.,  1869- 

Hamilton,  Miss  Maria,  1858-1860 
Hamilton,  Miss  Mary,  1863-64;  1866 

Higbv,  Aliss  L.,  1847-1849 


Irvin,  Rev.  S  M., 
Jennings,  Miss  M., 
Jones,  Mr.  David, 
Jones,  Mrs., 
Lee,  Mr.  S.  O., 
Lee,  Mrs., 
Long,  Mrs.  C.  W., 
*McKinuey,  Rev.Edmund, 
McKinney,  Mrs., 
Mills,  Miss  Joanna, 
Partch,  Mr.  H.  W., 
Partch,  Mrs., 
Rolph,  Mr.  J.  R., 
Rolph,  Mrs., 
Reed,  Mr.  David  E., 
Robb,  Mr.  C, 
Robb,  Mrs., 
Selleck,  Mr.  C.  S., 
Selleck,  Mrs., 
Smith,  Miss  Emily, 
Sturges,  Rev.  Chas.  (M.D.), 
Sturges,  Mrs.  Sarah  Jane, 
Wade,  Mrs.  M.  C, 
Woods,  Miss  Mary  E., 


1855 
1855-1864 
1846-1847 
1846-1847 
1859-1862 
1857-1859 
1864-1866 
1864-1866 
1864-1866 
183.5-1836 
1835-1836 
1860-1861 
1862-1864 
1865-1866 
1850-1854 
1865-1866 
1854-1864 
1863 
1855 


1880. 

1880-1882 

1852-18.57 

1852-1857 

1865-1869 

1865-1869 

1858-1860 

1846-1853 

1846-1853 

1865-1868 

1881-1884 

1881-1884 

1857-1858 

1857-1858 

1847-1852 

1863-1864 

1863-1864 

1857-18.58 

1857-1858 

1857-1860 

1857-1860 

1857-1860 

1882- 

1852-1854 


Otoes,  1856-1859. 


Conover,  Miss  Mary, 
Conover,  Miss  S.  E., 
Guthrie,  Rev.  H.  W., 
Guthrie,  Mrs., 


1857 
1857-1858 
1858-1859 
1858-1859 


Hickman,  Rev.  Gary, 
Lowe,  Mr.  Alexander, 
Murdock,  Rev.  D.  A., 
Steelman,  Miss  C.  A., 


1857 


1858 
-1  -^58 
1857 
1859 


3(5 


IMSTOIIKAI.    SKICTCII    OF    THK    MISSIONS 


C'opan,  Miss  Ilortciise, 
("onoViT,  Miss  Marv, 
llonncll,  llev.  W.  ll., 
IluhlHll.Mr.  K.. 


KK'KAI'OOS,    lS,")(!-lStiO. 

l.SoH-lS<)0       Huhhell,  Mrs.  185(3-1857 

1857-1858    I   Ml ielils,  Miss  Margaret  J.,  1857 

185(>-1857       Thorno,  liev.  A.  K.,  lS57-18(iO 

1850-1857       TlKirni',  Mrs.,  l.S57-18tiO 


Martin, 
Martin, 


Ucv.  S. 
Mrs.. 


WlNNKBACJOKS,  1868-18C!),  1881. 
I).,  1881-  I    Wilson,  lUv.  Joseph  M., 


18()8-18C9 


1881- 


Aiini,'ic,  Mis.s  II., 
Calhoun,  Miss  E., 
(Miapin,  Rev.  M.  E., 
("hapin,  Mrs., 
Pickson,  Miss  J.  B., 
Hunter,  Miss  N., 
McCreight,  Miss  C.  C, 


*.\inslie,  Rev.  George, 
Ainslie,  Mrs., 
Cowley,  llev.  II.  T., 
Cowley,  Mrs., 
Coyner,  Mr.  J., 
('oviier,  Mrs., 
Deffenhaugh,  Rev.  G.  L., 
•Deffenhaugh,  Mrs., 


Cowley,  Rev.  II.  T., 


D.\KOTAS,   1871-1881. 

1880-1881       *Willianison,Rev.T.S.(M.D.) 

P-,t 


1873-1875 

188;{-1885 

1883-1885 

1878- 

1880- 

1880- 


■■Willianison,  Mrs., 
Williamson,  Rev.  J. 
AVilliain.son,  Mrs., 
«Willianison,  Miss  N.  J. 
Wood,  Rev.  G.,  Jr., 
Wood,  Mrs., 


,t  '35-79 
835-1872 
stiO- 

,S()(I- 

873-1877 

880- 

880- 


Nkz  Pekces,  1871-1881 

1872-1875 
1872-1875 


1871-1873 
1871-1873 
1873-1874 
1873-1874 

1878- 
1881-1884 


DeiTenbaiigh ,  ^Irs., 
MeHeth,  Miss  S.  ]>., 
Mcl'.eth,  Miss  K.  C, 
Martin,  Rev.  S.  N.  D., 
Martin,  Mrs., 
^Spalding,  Rev.  11.  II., 
Spalding,  Mrs., 


Spokans,  1875. 
1875.  I   Cowley,  Mrs., 

Creeks,  1842-1881. 


1885- 
1877- 
1879- 
1873-1875 

1871-1874 


1875. 


Baldwin.  Miss  E.  J.,    1876-1880; 

1884-1885 
1848-1850 
1849-1850 

1884. 

18.50-1852 
1870-1877 
1880- 


Balentine,  Rev.  ITainilton, 

Halentine,  Mrs., 

Bardue,  ^liss  L., 

Bowen,  Miss  Mary, 

Brown.  Miss  S.  G., 

Cole,  Miss  r.  A., 

Craig,   Mrs.   A.   A.   (Miss 

Ann  A.  Robertson,  1871 -)  1876-1883 

*Crosswhite,  Mr.  J.  J.,         1884-1885 

Davis,  Mr.  J.  P.,  1858-1861 

Denton,  Miss  L.,  1884. 

Diament,  Rev.  J.N.,  1883- 

Dianient,  Mrs.,  188.3- 

Dianient,  Miss  Elizabeth,     18.54-18.56 
Dianient,  Miss  Naomi  1854-1856 

Eakins,  Hev.  Davi.l  W.,       1848-1850 
Eddv,  Miss  Clara  W.,  1852-1853 

E.lwards,  Miss  Katie,  1870-1872 

Erecbind,  Mr.  R.  M.,  1885- 

Garrison,  Miss  Jane,  1857-1860 


Golde,  Mr.  p:iias,  1854- 

(JoMe,  Mrs.,  1854- 

Green,  Miss  Hannah  M.,  1851-1852 
Green,  Miss  Lilian,  1880-1882 

Hall,  Miss  Nellie,  1882-1883 

Herod,  Mrs.  M.,  1883. 

Hoyt,  Miss  Nancy,  1849-1850 

Irwin,  Miss  M.,  1878-1879 

Jones,  Mr.  J.,  1858-1859 

Jones,  Mrs.,  1858-1858 

Junkin,  James (M.D.),  1851-'52;  '85- 
Junkin,  Mrs.,  1851 -'52;  '85- 

Junkin,  Mr.  Joseph  B.,  1850-1853 
Junkin,  Mrs.,  1850-1853 

Kevs,  Miss  L.  E.,  1885- 

Liiiiber,  Rev.  John.  1K44-1845 

Loomis,  Rev.  Augustus  W.,  1852-1853 
«Loomis,  Mrs.,  1852-1853 

Loughridge,  Rev.R.]^!.,  1841-'61 ;  '80- 
*Loughridge,  Mrs.  Olivia,  1842-1845 
*Loughridge,  Mrs.  Mary  A., 1846-1850 
Loughridge,  Mrs.,     -1861;  1880- 


AMONG   THE    NORTH    AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


37 


McCav,  Miss  H.  J.,  1877-1880 

McCul lough,  Mr.  R.  B.,  18«0-18()1 
Meriilloi^'h,  Mrs.,  18tJ0-18(il 

«McI':wen,'  Mr.  Alexander,  18.53-1854 
McGee,  Rev.  R.  C,  1878- 

»MeKean,  Miss  Mary  H.,  1856-1860 
McKliinoy,  Rev.  Edmund,  1843 

McKiiiney,  Mrs.,  1843 

Mann,  Mrs.  A.,  1883- 

Mills,  Miss  Joanna,  1858-1861 

Price,  Miss  Mary,  1854-1856 

Ramsay,  Rev.  J.  Ross,  1850-1852 
*Ramsay,  Mrs.  Jane  M.,  1850-1852 
Reid,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  1852-1857 

Richards,  Miss  M.  E.,  1880- 

*Robertson,  Rev.  W.S.,  '50-61 ;  '66-81 
Robertson,  Mrs.  A.  E.W.,  '50-61 ;  '66- 


Russell,  Miss  N.  C, 
Shepherd,  Miss  Nannie, 
Shepherd,  Miss  S.  O., 
Snedaker,  Miss  E., 
Stanislaus,  Miss  Clara, 
Tarbot,  Miss  Jane  H., 
Templeton,  Rev.  Wm.  H., 
*Templeton,  Mrs.  Cath.  M., 
Vance,  Miss  Mary, 
Wilson,  Miss  A., 
Whitehead,  Miss  Mary, 
Whitehead,  Mr.  J.  P., 
Whitehead,  Mrs., 
Wilson,  Miss  Mary, 
Worcester,  Mr.  Leonard, 
Worcester,  Mrs., 
Yargee,  Mrs.  J., 


1873-1874 

1850-1861 

1869-1872 

1883-1884 

1852-1855 

1857-1859 

1851-1857 

1852-1857 

1860-1861 

1884- 

1885  - 

1883- 

1883- 

1868-1871 

1868-1871 

1868-1871 

1884. 


Seminoles,  1848-1881. 


Davis,  Miss  Susan, 
Dianient,  Miss  M.  A., 
Gillis,  Rev.  J., 
Gillis,  Mrs., 
Lilley,  Rev.  John, 
Lilley,  Mrs., 
Lilley,  Miss  Margaret, 


1883- 

1883- 

1873. 

1873. 

1848-1861 

1848-1861 

1855-1857 


McCay,  Miss  H.  J.,  1881-1883 

Powel,  Mrs.  H.,  1883-1885 

Ramsay,  Rev.  J.  Ross,  '56-61 ;   1866- 
Ramsay,  Mrs.,  1856-1861;    1866- 
Ramsay,  Miss  Margaret,      1879-1880 
Ramsay,  Miss  Adaline,        1880- 


Choctaws,  1845-1861. 


Ainslie,  Rev.  Geo.,  '52-56 ;  1858 
■••"Ainslie,  Mrs., 

Balentine,  Rev.  H.,  '50-52;  1855 
Balentine,  Mrs.,  '50-52;  1855 
Betz,  Mr.  Joseph  S.,  1846 

«'Betz,  Mrs.,  1847 

Bissell,  Mr.  Lewis,  1846 

Burtt,  Mr.  Robert  J.,  1853 

Burtt,  Mrs.,  1855 

«Byington,  Rev.  Cyrus,  1859- 
Byington,  Mrs., 

*Copeland,  Rev.  C.  C,  1859- 
Culbertson,  Miss  Lizzie,  1860- 
Davidson,  Miss  Maria,  1855 
Denny,  Miss  M.  E.,  1856- 

Diament,  Miss  Elizabeth,  1857- 
Downing,  Miss  Calista  B.,  1860- 
*Dutcher,  Miss  Susan,  1848- 

Eddy,  Miss  Clara  W.,  1860- 

Edwards,  Rev.  J.,  '51-53;  1859- 
Edwards,  Mrs.,  1851- 

Eells,  Rev.  Edward,  1855- 

Eells,  Mrs.,  1855- 

Evans,  Mr.  Edward,  1853- 

Evans,  Mrs.,  1853- 

Fishback,  Charles  (M.D.),  1848- 
Frothingham,  Rev.  James,  1857- 
Frothingham,  Mrs.,  1857- 

Gardiner,  Mr.  Charles  H.,  1846- 
*Gardiner,  Mrs.,  1846- 

*Graham,  Rev.  Alex.  J.,     1849- 


-1861 
-1861 
-1859 
-1859 
-1855 
1855 
-1849 
1857 
-1857 
-1861 
1861 
-1861 
-1861 
-1856 
-1858 
-1861 
-1861 
-1851 
•1861 
-1861 
-1853 
-1856 
-1856 
-1860 
1860 
■1849 
■1859 
■1859 
1849 
■1849 
1850 


2* 


Gregory,  Rev.  Caspar  R., 
Gregory,  Mrs., 
Hancock,  Miss  E.  Y., 
Hitchcock,  Miss  J.  M., 
Hobbs,  Rev.  S.  L.(M.D.), 
Hobbs,  Mrs., 

HoIIingsworth,  Miss  J.  S., 
*Hotchkin,  Rev.  Ebenezer, 
Hotchkin,  Mrs. 
Ives,  Mr.  Charles  P., 
Jackson,  Rev.  Sheldon, 
Jackson,  Mrs., 
Jones,  Mr.  J., 
Jones,  Mrs., 
Kingsbury,  Rev.  Cyrus, 
Kingsbury,  Mrs., 
Lee,  Mr.  S.  O., 
Lee,  Mrs., 
Libby,  Mr.  S.  T., 
Libby,  Mrs., 
Long,  Miss  Sarah  R., 
Lowrie,  Mr.  Reuben, 
McBeth,  Miss  Sue, 
McLeod,  Miss  E.  M., 
McLure,  Mr.  Joseph, 
McLure,  Mrs., 
Martin  Miss  Emily  O., 
Mitchell,  Miss  H.  N.. 
Moore,  Rev.  Gaylord  L., 
Moore,  Mrs., 
Morehead,  Miss  Nancy, 


1849-1850 
1849-1850 
1858-1859 
1857-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1855-1856 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1860-1861 
1858-1859 
1858-1859 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1859-1861 
1860-1864 
1852-1853 
1859-1861 
1860-1861 
1846-1847 
1846-1847 
1856-1857 
1855-1856 
1856-1857 
1856-1857 
1859-1861 


:\s 


msTOKICAL  f^KKTCll    OF    THK    MISSIONS,    KTC. 


Morrison,  Miss  E.  J.,  1846-54;  '56-59 
Noiirse,  Mr.  J.  H.,  1H53-I854 

Noiirse,  Mrs.,  1853-1854 

Ramsav,  ]U-v.  James  R.,      1846-1849 
=^Kanisav,  .Mrs.,  1846-1849 

Keid,  Iti-v.  Altxaiidcr,  1849-1861 

*lU-i(l,  .Mrs.  Klizabeth.  1854 

*Kpi(l,  Mrs.  (Miss  F.  K. 

Tli<.iiip.s(.n,  1850-1852-),  18.55-1861 
Scheriiu-rhorii,  Rev.  F.,       1883- 
Selieriuerhori),  Jlrs.,  1883- 

Schermerhorii,  Mr.  L.,        1883- 


*Silliman,  Rev.  C.  J.,  1855-1856 

Stanislaus,  Miss  Clara,  '55-56 ;  '6CM31 
»Stark,  Rev.O.  P.,  '46-49;  '59-61 ;  '82 
Stark,  Mrs.,  18.-)9-1861 

•Iiiriier,  Mr.  Joseph  G.,  18.")U-1852 
Wontz,  Rev.  II.  A.,  1857-18(iO 

WigRins,  Mr.  N.,  18.57-1861 

Wiggins,  Miss  Sarah,  1857-1859 

Wilson,  Rev.  Jonathan,  18.")6-1857 
Young,  Mr.  Robert  J.,  1856-1861 

Young,  Mrs.,     .  -1861 


CUICKASAWS.  1849-1861. 


Allan,  Mr.  James  S.,  1849-18.55 

Allan,  Mrs.,  1849-1855 
Balentine,  Rev.  Hamilton,  18.59-1861 

Halentine,  Mrs.,  1859-1861 

•Barber,  Miss  Sarah  P.,  1855-1859 

Brower,  Mr.,  1858 

Brower,  Mrs.,  1858 

Burns,  Rev.  J.  H.,  1855-1856 

Burns,  Miss  Mary  J.,  18.53-1856 

C'ulbertson,  Mi.ss  Lizzie,  1858-1860 

Davis,  Mr.  J.  L.,  1852-1856 

Downing.  Miss  Calista  B.,  1859-1860 

Eddy,  Miss  Clara  W.,  1853-1860 

Green,  Miss  H.  M.,  1852  1855 

•Greenleaf,  Miss  Mary  C,  1856-1857 

*Lee,  Miss  Flora,  1855  1859 

Long,  Miss  Sarah  R.,  1859-1861 


McCarter,  Mr.  John  C, 
McCarter,  ^Irs., 
MeLeod,  Miss  E.  M., 
Matliers,  Miss  Esther, 
Ogden,  Miss  Anna, 
Shellabarger,  Mi.ss  M., 
Stanislaus,  Miss  Clara, 
Thayer,  Jliss  M.  J.  F., 
Tliompson,  Miss  F.  K., 
Turner,  Mi.ss  Anna  M., 
Vanee,  Miss  Mary, 
Watson,  Rev.  A.  M., 
Watson,  Mrs., 
»Wilson,  Rev.  Charlton  H. 
Wilson,  Mrs., 
Wilson,  Miss  Mary  J., 


1852- 

1859- 
18.'j5- 
1855- 
18.53- 
1857- 
1854- 
18.')2- 
1859- 
1859- 
1852- 
18,52- 
18,5.5- 
18.55- 
1853 


1860 

1860 
1860 
1859 
-1856 
1854 
•1860 
■1858 
•1855 
■1860 
■1860 
-18.53 
■18,53 
-1859 
-1859 
■1854 


New  Mexico  Mission,  1868-1874. 


Anuin,  Rev.  J.  A., 
Annin,  Mrs., 
Annin,  Mi.ss  L.  A., 
Crane,  Mr.  W.  F., 
('rothers.  Miss  M.  L. 
McElroy,  Mr.  P., 
MeElroy,  Mrs., 
^lenaul.  Rev.  J., 


1871-1873 

1871-1873 

1871-1873 

1873-1874 

1871. 

1871-1872 

1871-1872 

1870-1873 


Menaul,  Mrs., 
Raymond,  Mr.  C.  C, 
Raynion<i,  Mrs., 
Kobert.s,  Rev.  James  M. 
Roberts,  Mrs., 
*Trua.\,  Rev.  W.  B., 
Truax,  Mrs., 


1870- 

1.S72- 
1872- 
1868- 
1868- 
1872- 
1872- 


1873 
1873 
1873 
1873 
■1873 
1873 
1873 


Ball,  Miss  Dora, 


Sac  and  Fox. 
1884-1885    I    Skea,  Miss  A., 


1884- 


BooKS  OF  Reference. 

The  Gospel  amoncr  the  Dacotahs.   Stephen  R.  Riggs,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Life  of  the  Rev.  David  Brainerd.     GO  cts. 

Forty  Years  with  the  Sioux.     Stephen  R.  Riggs,  I).  D.,  LL.  D. 

Our  Indian  Wards.     Col.  Manypenny.     $2.00. 

A  Century  of  Dishonor.     H.  H.     $r.50. 

The  Annual  Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 


$1.50. 
$1.50. 


I 


t%uo. 


BY 


v/ 


Rev.  M.  WOOLSEY   STRYKER. 


MAP  OF 

Central  AND  Southern 
MEXICO. 


■."Yo'^':...- 


MISSIONS  IN  MEXICO. 


THE   COUNTRY. 


Mexico  is  at  our  doors.  Her  geography  makes  her  evangeli- 
zation our  nearest  and  immediate  duty.  Our  very  safety  as  a 
Christian  state  (for  we  must  help  her  or  she  will  hinder  us) 
dictates  such  a  gospel  application  of  the  "  Monroe  doctrine " 
that  her  great  uplands,  sure  to  be  the  highway  of  a  railway 
system,  may  be  the  viaduct  of  pure  religion  in  its  southward 
progress,  and  complete  the  circuit  between  the  two  divisions  of  a 
continent  that  is  yet  to  be  wholly  our  Lord's !  The  Cordilleras 
must  link  the  Andes  to  the  Sierras  in  a  chain  of  salvation  that 
shall  witness  His  supreme  conquest  whose  "  righteousness  is  like 
the  great  mountains." 

Mexico  rests  its  pyramidal  base  upon  our  frontier  along  1800 
miles,  being  the  southern  boundary  of  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona, and  California.  Its  extreme  length  is  2000  miles,  and  its 
breadth  1100  miles.  Its  area  is  761,000  square  miles,  which 
would  contain  France  four  times.  New  England  eleven  times, 
New  York  sixteen  times.  It  is  as  wonderful  in  its  variety  of 
configuration  and  climate  as  in  its  resources  and  products.  The 
land  is  traversed  by  great  mountain  ranges,  part  of  that  tremen- 
dous axis  of  the  continent  which  threads  five  zones.  These 
great  vertebrae,  with  their  spurs,  overlook  vast  and  fertile 
plateaus  lying,  at  the  lowest,  some  3000  feet  above  the  sea.  A 
day's  journey  can  include  a  range  of  temperature  and  product 
equivalent  to  that  comprehended  by  the  latitude  between  Cuba 
and  Vermont.  The  climate  is  as  mellow  and  lovely  as  Italy's, 
the  thermometer  having  a  range  through  the  year  of  little  more 
than  fifty  degrees.  As  a  landscape  is  focalized  in  a  Claude 
Lorraine  glass,  so  in  Mexico  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and 
the  glory  of  them  are  blended.  The  flora  is  magnificent  and 
immensely  varied.  The  botanical  riches  surpass  those  of  any 
other  land  on  earth. 

Mexico  is  an  agricultural  cosmos.  Coffee,  one  of  the  chief 
exports,  in  quality  and  price  can  under-bid  the  plantations  of 
Java  and  Brazil.  The  manufacture  of  sugar  is  of  immense  pro- 
portions ;  the  cane  grows  uncultivated  to  the  height  of  twenty 

41 


42  IIISTOKRAL    SKKTCII    OF 

feet.  It  is  an  excellent  cotton  land.  Havana  is  glad  to  put  its 
brands  ui)on  Mexican  tobacco.  Kice,  indigo,  cocoa,  caoutchouc, 
dve-stutis,  and  all  tropical  products  flourish  in  the  lowlands; 
while  upon  the  uplands,  and  within  a  hundred  miles,  corn  and 
wheat  can  rival  Illinois  and  Minnesota.  Strawberries,  melons, 
peaches,  with  all  the  generous  fruits  of  hot  climates,  are  in-olitic; 
and  these  with  all  the  vegetables  known  to  American  kitchens, 
and  many  more  too  perishable  for  commerce,  are  the  plentiful 
and  cheap  staple  of  diet. 

Of  course  where  mountain  ranges  can  culminate  in  a  superb  peak 
IT.OtIO  feet  high,  there  is  a  great  extent  of  sterile  and  untillable 
land ;  but  the  fertile  valleys  and  upper  plains  yield  each  year  two 
bountiful  crops.  All  the  animals  of  the  troj)ics  and  of  the  tem- 
perate zone  are  here,  the  northern  portions  of  the  country  fur- 
nishing great  facilities  for  herds  and  flocks.  The  western  coast 
has  pearl  fisheries,  and  Yucatan  yields  amber.  Timbers  of  great 
value  are  to  be  an  increasing  revenue  of  the  future. 

The  underground  wealth  of  this  favored  land  is  past  estimate. 
Nearly  one-half  the  precious  metal  in  man's  possession  has  been 
dug  here.     Gold  is  as  abundant  as  in  Colorado  and  California, 

"  To  make,  to  ruin,  to  curse,  to  bless," 

as  lust  shall  serve  or  use  master  it.  The  silver  is  illimitable  and 
forms  the  chief  mintage.  There  is  copper  enough  to  bring  down 
the  market  price  one-half  Platinum,  lead,  tin,  zinc,  antimony, 
nickel,  and  cinnabar,  are  variously  abundant. 

No  blast  furnace  has  yet  been  built  in  Mexico,  but  there  are 
mountains  of  iron,  and  provinces  with  the  ore  atop  the  earth  by 
the  million  tons.  Coal  is  constantly  discovering,  the  arsenal  of 
a  ])Ossible  manufacture  that  could  furnish  with  material  the 
skilled  labor  of  the  planet.  What  will  Mexico  not  be  when 
forge  and  mill  shall  supersede  petty  industries  and  mere  hand- 
labor?  The  quarries  of  Mexico,  yet  undug,  are  of  certain 
importance.  Her  mineral  wonders  are  so  far  but  specimens  of 
what  enterprise  shall  find  and  furnish.  The  laboratories  of 
nature  are  still  producing  sulphur  and  the  chemicals  of  the  arts. 

As  yet,  only  the  crudest  labor,  the  most  primitive  implements, 
the  least  ingenuity,  have  apprehended  these  varied  and  gigantic 
treasures ;  skill,  sagacity,  scientific  mechanics,  all  backed  by 
cajjital,  must  soon  unlock  these  coffers  of  the  ages.  The  mere 
resources  of  this  romantic  land  are  by  no  means  the  foremost 
warrant  for  the  Church  to  act,  and  act  now.  "  There  is  no 
ditter(;nce ; "  human  sin,  shame,  sorrow,  and  eternal  jeopardy, 
and  Christ's  sufiBciency  for  these  are'  our  motives.  But,  never- 
theless, this  vast  potential  wealth  and  this  dawning  future  are 


THE    MISSIONS   IN    MEXICO.  48 

the  basis  of  an  argument  for  immediate  advance.  When  this 
nation,  second  upon  the  continent  only  to  our  own  in  ])opulous- 
ness  and  wealth,  is  wakening  to  power,  let  us  see  that  she  wakens 
to  righteousness.  Her  future  must  ally  with  ours.  With  a 
coast  line  of  6000  miles,  Mexico  has  no  commercial  rivers,  and 
scarcely  one  decent  harbor.  The  tides  of  her  traffic  must  flow 
to  the  pons  of  the  United  States,  nearer  or  remoter.  We  must 
be  her  first  and  chief  market.  Already  the  sagacity  of  our 
capital  is  peering  thilher.  We  are  building  the  railways,  fur- 
nishing the  facilities  for  export  that  must  quicken  production 
and  give  it  ample  outlet.  Notwithstanding  the  cost  of  engineering, 
by  reason  of  the  obstinate  irregularity  of  the  land,  the  prize  con- 
stantly bids  higher.  By  withes  of  iron,  by  the  links  of  common 
interest,  by  the  steady  onset  of  social  forces,  Mexico's  future  is 
to  be  more  and  more  identified  with  our  own.  For  once,  then, 
let  the  children  of  light  be  wise  in  their  generation, — of  their 
mammon  make  eternal  friends, — enter  an  alliance  under  the  true 
cross, — outrun  even  the  shrewdness  of  investors, — and  in  the 
simplicity  of  Christ  carry  the  irresistible  plea  over  the  borders. 
If  engineering  can  span  chasms  that  seemed  a  fixed  barrier,  and 
chisel  all  impediments  to  the  level  of  its  purpose,  shall  the 
pioneers  of  the  gospel,  with  all  its  guarantees  of  civilization, 
domestic  purity,  and  personal  dignity  before  God,  be  less  ardent, 
resolute,  and  successful  ?  While  financiers  turn  to  Mexico  to  bring 
it  to  the  market,  let  us  outsee  even  their  sagacity,  and  outdo 
their  zeal,  and  bring  Mexico  to  that  which  is  "  without  price." 

"  Ye  valleys,  rise,  and  sink,  ye  hills, 
Prepare  the  Lord  His  way ! " 

The  Mexicans  are  fully  awakening  to  the  importance  of  con- 
tinuous communication  with  the  United  States ;  let  us  waken 
them  to  "  approve  the  things  that  are  more  excellent." 

THE   PEOPLE. 

The  population  numbers  about  ten  and  a  half  millions.  There 
are  eighteen  cities  having  upwards  of  20,000  people.  Only  about 
one  million  hold  property  of  any  kind.  About  one  million  are 
of  clear  European  blood ;  five  millions  of  pure  Indian  descent ; 
and  the  remainder  are  a  mixed  race,  with  all  the  variously 
blended  traits,  good  and  bad,  of  a  conglomerate  ancestry." 

The  direct  natives  have  a  lineage  of  centuries.  The  Toltecs 
came  in  from  the  north  about  1000  years  ag®.  The  Aztecs,  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  made  conquest  of  all  their  predecessors, 
subordinating  into  one  domain  the  tribes  from  the  Gulf  to  the 
Pacific.     ^lany,  however,  of  those  subdued  tribes  still  retain  their 


44  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

separate  identity,  and  their  peculiarities  of  dialect  and  customs, 
notably  in  Miclioacan  and  Yucatan.  The  aborigines  of  Mexico 
were  vigorous  and  warlike;  and  their  descendants,  while  showing 
no  diminution  in  number  (of  late  years  they  have  increased  more 
than  the  C'reoles  and  Spaniards),  still  maintain  many  of  their  early 
traits.  They  constitute  (strangely  to  our  notions  of  the  Indian) 
the  agricultural  element  of  the  country,  and,  considering  the  lati- 
tude, are  industrious  and  thrifty,  not  lacking  in  virile  (jualities, 
though  touchingly  subdued  in  mien  and  tone  by  the  long  years  of 
subjugation.  The  Aztecs,  as  the  Normans  in  England,  and  more 
recently  the  Tartar  dynasty  in  China,  took  on  the  civilization 
they  overran. 

Dr.  Ell  in  wood  has  happily  compared  them  to  the  Venetians,  in 
their  strongholds  rescued  from  the  waters,  and  gradually  fortified 
until  they  became  not  only  invincible  but  supreme.  Their  refuge 
upon  Lake  Tezcuco  had  become,  at  the  Spanish  inroad,  a  city  of 
800,000  inhabitants.  Their  history  is  romantic  and  wonderful. 
They  attained  a  high  cultivation.  They  had  a  noble  architecture, 
and  were  skillful  in  arts ;  they  made  advances  in  poetry  and  astron- 
omy ;  were  ingenious,  aesthetic,  ornate  in  decoration,  chivalric  to 
their  women.  They  had  much  that  reminds  now  of  Egypt  and 
now  of  France.  The  syllables  of  their  ancient  language  are  still 
their  living  tongue.  The  City  of  Mexico  contains  not  a  few  noble 
and  influential  men,  whose  hearts  beat  with  the  unadulterated 
blood  of  an  ancestry  as  old  as  Charlemagne.  The  chief  lady  of 
honor  to  "  poor  Carlotta  "  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Montezuma. 
Such  vital  pertinacity,  and  through  such  a  history,  reveals  integral 
characteristics  which,  sanctified  under  the  final  and  all-blessing 
conquest  of  the  Galilean,  may  yet  resume  all  their  ancient  dignity. 

The  New  Testament  has  been  printed  in  the  original  Aztec. 

The  Aztec  religion  wjis  as  prolific  in  gods  as  that  of  Greece  or 
Rome.  They  held  one  supreme  ruler,  like  the  ancient  Jove,  and  a 
whole  pantheon  of  deified  human  impulses  and  passions.  Temples 
■were  numerous,  and  the  hierarchy  many  and  strong.  Cannibalism 
was  a  religious  rite.  In  the  Museum  of  the  City  of  Mexico  there 
may  be  seen  to-day  a  gigantic  circular  block  of  red  porphyry 
which  once  was  the  apex  of  the  pyramidal  temple  that  towered 
in  high  view  above  all  the  homes  of  the  capital.  It  was  the  great 
sacrificial  stone  of  the  bloodiest  rite  on  earth.  It  is  estimated  that 
annually  20,000  war  prisoners  were  slain  upon  it.  Its  side  is 
horrible  with  the  sculpture  of  cruelties.  Polluted  by  the  dripping 
hearts  of  myriad  victims,  this  Moloch  altar  testifies  the  inherent 
impotence,  even  of  noble  qualities  and  an  otherwise  high  civiliza- 
tion, to  redeem  an  unguided  people,  their  sin-blurred  instincts 
unhelped,  from  the  inhumanity  of  a  humanity  ignorant  of  God's 


THE    MISSIONS    IX    MEXICO.  45 

mercy,  and  learning  its  only  lessons  from  the  clash  of  matter 
and  force. 

Ah,  what  a  Macedonian  cry,  from  snch  a  land,  sonnds  into  the 
drowsy  ears  of  a  lukewarm  Church  to  come  and  help,  that, 
])urge'd  of  its  past,  a  redeemed  national  life  may  bear  the  glory 
of  the  religion  of  Jesus  C'hrist ! — that  no  Ilomish  compromise 
between  this  butcher-block  and  the  undefiled  gospel  may,  with 
priestcraft,  and  empty  rite,  and  red  hands,  hinder  the  free  course 
of  eternal  love! — that  all  mere  ritual  may  yield  to  righteousness, 
and  Mexico,  in  the  power  of  Immanuel,  become  a  happy  people 
whose  God  is  the  Lord ! 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  labor  among  the  Indians  or  native 
Mexicans  will -find  everything  ready.  Upon  all  their  original 
qualities  they  bear  the  hoof-marks  of  conquest  and  long  abuse. 
Their  clan  feeling  has  been  intensified  by  ages  of  hateful  serfhood ; 
their  native  brightness,  simplicity,  and  accessibility  scorched  and 
withered  under  long  repression  and  abuse.  The  policy  of  their 
papal  conquerors  has  been  evermore  to  keep  them  down  and 
under.  Ignorance  has  been  their  degradation,  and  to-day  but 
one-eighth  of  the  population  of  Mexico  can  read.  The  Bible 
is  unheeded,  for  it  is  almost  entirely  unknown.  A  dissolute, 
carousing,  gambling,  drunken  priesthood  have  been  their  only 
preceptors.  The  convents  have  been  nests  of  licentious  idlers — 
their  god  their  belly.  Under  the  extortionate  demands  of  the 
])adres,  marriage  has  been  widely  superseded  by  concubinage. 
The  name  of  Jesus  has  become  identified  with  Jesuitry,  and  the 
gospel  has  been  gall.  The  moral  reaction  of  all  this  has  been 
terrible,  indeed,  upon  the  master  race ;  but  while  the  Spaniard 
has  relapsed  into  universal  indifference — practical  atheism — the 
Indian's  soul  has  fed  on  grudges.  Resentment  has  not  been  less 
deep  because  impotent.  The  prejudices  of  power,  crushing  its 
victims  under  a  rigid  caste  spirit,  have  but  compacted  their 
heredity  of  estrangement.  Such  work  does  Rome  when  unmo- 
lested !     She  transmuted  much,  but  regenerated  nothing. 

The  "  hacienda  "  system  of  peonage  has  been  another  factor  of 
tyranny,  parcel  to  the  whole  spirit  of  the  usurpers  of  this  land. 
It  is  feudality  Avith  none  of  its  merits.  The  proprietors  of  vast 
sections  rule  their  helpless  tenants  under  a  remorseless  despotism — 
ejecting  upon  caprice,  oppressing  everyAvhere.  The  laborer  is 
practically  a  slave  without  recourse — and  Avorse  than  a  slave ; 
for  mere  base  interest  leads  slavers  to  care  somewhat  for  their 
chattels.  This  blighting  system  is  chiefly  responsible  for  the 
shifts  of  desperate  and  famined  wretches,  for  brigandage,  outrage, 
and  wide  contempt  for  a  rule  that  has  no  mercy,  and  a  law^  that 
is  without  justice.   Under  such  cumulative  and  traditional  wrongs. 


46  HISTOUICAI.   SKKTCH    OF 

the  common  people  at  large,  and  of  all  shades  of  race,  are  bitterly 
poor,  and  universally  demoralized.  No  wonder  that  Mexico, 
with  a  society  so  constituted — the  few  pampered  and  dehilitated, 
the  many  impoverished — can  show  so  little  in  manufacture  and 
commerce,  and  literature  and  the  arts.  Her  imports  (though, 
to  be  sure,  under  a  tariH'  almost  restrictive)  are  only  about 
thirtv  millions  annually,  as  (for  comparative  instance)  against 
an  average  of  six  hundred  millions  in  the  United  States.  All 
tliis,  Saxon  justice  and  a  Christian  civilization  must  change — 
invigorating,  encouraging,  uplifting.  Mexico  must  be  "  born 
again,"  ancl  nursed  at  the  breast  of  freedom. 

While,  with  ourselves,  sturdy  Englishmen,  and  keen  French- 
men, and,  notably  thrifty  Germans,  are  turning  toward  these 
boundless  and  undeveloped  resources,  and  bringing  with  them  a 
leaven  of  new  commercial  vigor,  the  people  must  be  changed  at 
deeper  springs.  Already  the  shafts  of  dawn  are  piercing  the 
superstitions  of  the  past,  and  the  sword  of  the  Word  is  spilling 
the  soul  of  tyranny.  The  gospel,  ardent,  bold,  aggressive,  the 
only  true  and  abiding  philanthropy,  must  unhinge  the  gates  of 
heli  and  bear  them  away  to  the  very  crest  of  Orizaba.  For 
"  everything  shall  live  whithersoever  the  rivers  shall  come !  " 

Spite  of  all  perversions  and  repressions  the  human  conscience 
is  ever  the  prepared  soil  of  the  gospel  seed ;  and  the  Indian  com- 
munities of  Mexico  show  already  not  only  a  surprising  teach- 
ableness, but  a  profound  zeal  to  hear  the  Word  of  life,  eagerly 
receiving  the  preached  and  printed  message,  and  often  at  great 
self-sacrifices. 

THE    POLITICAL   HISTORY. 

The  Spaniard,  Hernando  Cortez,  conquered  Mexico  1519-21. 
For  300  years  viceroys  ruled — not  for  Mexico,  but  for  Spain. 
Cruel  governors  vied  in  extortion  with  greedy  bishops.  The 
Popish  Church  gradually  impoverished  the  land  with  mortgages 
that  covered  fully  a  third  of  all  the  real  property.  The  vicarage 
of  cupidity  and  lust  ate  as  a  cancer.  The  greedy  tyranny 
crushed  all  the  germs  alike  of  religious  and  civil  liberty.  The 
truth  that  makes  free,  the  magna  charta  of  all  manhood,  the 
high  code  of  ])ersonal  obedience  and  duty,  was  a  thing  sealed 
and  lost.  But  this  rule  of  baptized  robbers  could  not  last  for- 
ever, nor  bar  out  with  the  abuses  of  the  dark  ages  the  "  Light 
of  the  world." 

When  Napoleon  broke  the  sceptre  of  Castile,  in  1808,  Mexico 
began  to  breathe — yet  stertorously,  as  one  rescued  from  drowning. 
Miguel  Hidalgo,  albeit  a  priest,  a  noble  patriot,  struck  the  first 
real  blow  for  liberty  in  1810.     He  struck  stoutly,  but  was  over- 


THE   MISSIOXS    IN    MEXICO.  47 

come,  tried,  and  shot.  What  of  that !  The  undying  fire  was 
lio-hted  at  last.  The  seed,  wet  with  such  bhjod,  sprang  up 
everywhere.  In  the  years  from  1<S21  to  1828  the  whole  chain  of 
her  American  dependencies  flung  off  the  yoke  of  Spain.  Mexico, 
under  Iturbide,  declared  herself  free  in  1821,  and  began  the  re- 
l)ublic  in  1824.  IMediievalism  was  not,  however,  to  be  uprooted 
in  a  day.  "Since  the  first  declaration  of  independence  there 
have  been  at  least  sixty  revolutions.  These  have  been  attributed 
to  the  ambition  of  military  leaders,  to  restlessness  among  the 
people,  to  a  love  of  plunder,  and  to  a  lack  of  appreciation  of 
the  majesty  of  law  and  good  order ;  but  the  truth  is,  says  one 
who  knows  the  Mexican  well,  and  who  has  lived  a  long  time  in 
the  country,  '  These  frequent  wars  are  but  outbreaks  of  unceasing 
struggle  between  sacerdotalism  and  the  desire  for  liberal  institu- 
tions.' With  some  of  these  insurrections  the  priests  have  had 
much  to  do,  as  by  them  they  hoped  to  regain  their  lost  power 
and  influence,  and  enjoy  the  property  which  had  been  wrested 
from  them.  Other  revolutions  have  been  occasioned  by  disap- 
pointed political  or  military  leaders,  who  have  been  willing  to 
sacrifice  the  good  of  others  to  their  own  personal  ambition  ;  but 
the  real  cause  is  the  lack  of  true  religious  principle,  in  rulers  and 
people,  which  principle  gives  fixedness  to  government  and  law." 

Not  all  at  once  can  a  people,  long  brutalized,  attain  self- 
government  in  liberty  imder  the  law.  The  bloody  oscillations  of 
this  history,  like  that  of  France,  lay  part  of  their  horrors  at  the 
guilty  door  of  those  who  had  so  wrought  evil. 

The  Jesuit  mildew  still  gathered  foul  and  thick  upon  the 
efl^orts  toward  constitutionalism.  "  In  the  Spanish  states  it  has 
taken  half  a  century  to  learn  that  republicanism  and  Romanism 
are  from  their  very  nature  in  universal  and  eternal  conflict ; 
that  the  one  encourages  the  enlightenment  and  free  thought  of 
the  people,  and  cannot  exist  otherwise ;  while  the  other  must  live 
by  authority  and  repression." 

The  story  of  Santa  Anna ;  his  coup  cV  etat;  the  revolt  of  Texas ; 
the  Mexico-American  war;  the  saving  to  freedom  our  present 
southwest  out  of  the  bony  clutch  of  "  Giant  Pope ;  "  the  ultimate 
comprehension  of  California ; — all  these  are  threads  interwoven 
with  the  providence  of  God  toward  ourselves, — a  chapter  written 
in  His  undeniable  hand.  Our  thoughts  were  not  without  evil, 
but  they  were  not  God's  thoughts.  He  "  meant  it  for  good,  to 
bring  it  to  pass  to  save  much  people." 

If  not  altogether  clear  of  guilty  greed  and  an  unnamed  pur- 
pose, the  bayonets  of  the  United  States  poured  over  the  borders 
to  the  bloody  work  of  Buena  Vista  and  Monterey ;  nevertheless, 
there  went  in  many  an  American  knapsack  A  book,  the  leaves 


4-*<  HISTORICAL    SKKTCII    OF 

of  wliicli  arc  for  the  liealint;  of  the  nations!  In  the  awful 
furrows  of  war  was  sowed,  here  and  there,  the  Word  of  life ; 
the  Word  that  "  brinfrs  lifrht;"  tliat  tells  of  peace  to  man  and 
irlorv  to  the  Ili^diest.  and  that  "the  <rarinent!<  of  the  warrior  and 
the  hoots  of  Imttle  shall  be  fuel  of  tire!  " 

The  enslavement  of  Konianism  was  renounced  in  1857  under 
Juai-e/. ;  but  for  ten  years  yet  it  cluno;  to  the  throat  of  Mexico. 
Not  until  1H(!7  was  the  liberal  republic  finally  triumphant  over 
the  priestly  reactionists. 

The  events  in  which  discord  yielded  to  the  more  stable  ji'overn- 
ment  of  the  ])resent  are  the  things  of  but  yesterday.  Another 
Boiiai>arte  was  again  to  be  the  unintentional  minister  of  Him 
who  restrains  all  men  to  His  final  purpose,  and  turns  their  wrath 
to  a  doxolojjy. 

The  appeal  of  Miramon  and  the  ecclesiastics  to  Louis  Napo- 
leon ;  the  French  usur])ation  of  1SG2;  the  im])osition  as  emperor 
of  Maximilian  (more  sinned  against  than  sinning,  and  worthy, 
alas!  of  a  better  end);  when  our  hour  had  come,  the  stern 
remonstrance  of  Seward  to  the  French  empire ;  the  withdrawal 
of  their  arms ;  the  des])erate  appeal  and  piteous  madness  of  the 
beautiful  Carlotta, — all  these  are  written  in  the  memory  of  this 
generation. 

Let  us  listen  for  a  moment  to  Dr.  Ellinwood :  "  The  republic, 
which  for  ten  years  had  existed  almost  in  the  person  of  a  single 
man — Benito  Juarez — had  returned  from  its  exile  at  El  Paso  to 
San  Luis  Potosi,  and  it  became  apparent  that  the  final  conflict 
would  centre  at  Queretaro,  half  Avay  between  the  latter  ])lace 
and  the  ca])ital. 

"  Pardon  a  single  glance  at  this  remarkable  man  Juarez.  A 
pure-l)looded  Indian,  born  in  the  mountains  of  Oaxaca,  he  had 
risen  to  ]X)wer  by  his  acknowledged  genius.  When  Comonfort 
betrayed  the  republic  to  the  reactionists  in  1857,  Juarez  main- 
tained the  liberal  cause  till  the  next  election,  when  he  was  chosen 
])resideiit.  During  all  the  years  of  the  struggle  with  France  this 
man,  with  a  cabinet  composed  of  Lerdo,  Iglesias,  and  Marcshal, 
and  Avith  Senor  Romero  as  his  minister  at  Washington,  kept 
alive  the  cause  of  liberty  among  the  people^  Even  when  they 
were  driven  to  El  Paso  on  the  northern  border  they  still  held 
their  organization  as  president  and  cabinet  of  the  repul)lic,  and 
sending  letters  through  the  United  States  to  friends  in  all  lands, 
they  assured  them  that  their  republican  cause  was  not  dead,  but 
would  certainly  triumph. 

"Tlieir  sublime  faith  and  devotion  doubtless  had  great  influence 
in  shaping  our  policy  at  Washington  and  in  creating  a  reactionary 
sentiment  against  the  empire  even  in  Europe. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN    MEXICO.  49 

"  The  spring  of  18(17  brnuglit  the  beginning  of  the  end.  Maxi- 
milian's chief  forces,  Avith  himself  among  them,  were  at  Queretaro 
under  siege.  In  an  attempt  to  eseaj)e  he  was  betrayed  by  one  of 
his  generals,  placed  under  arrest,  tried  by  a  military  tribunal,  and, 
with  Generals  Miramon  and  Mexia,  was  sentenced  and  shot. 

"  In  the  trying  scenes  which  followed,  the  character  of  our 
typical  Indian  j)resident  was  well  illustrated.  Efforts  were  made 
by  our  government  and  b}^  the  Eui'opean  consuls  to  secure  a 
change  of  sentence ;  and  when  the  wife  of  a  prince  belonging  to 
Maximilian's  staff  threw  herself  at  the  president's  feet  and  clung 
to  his  knees  as  she  poured  out  her  entreaties,  he  wept  in  sympathy 
while  he  declared  himself  powerless  as  a  mere  executive  under 
the  behests  of  the  law. 

"  It  is  a  strange  spectacle,  a  European  princess  at  the  feet  of 
an  Indian  patriot  pleading  for  the  life  of  an  emperor,  and  both 
weeping  as  the  solemn  fiat  is  uttered.  And  this  is  the  man — this 
American  Indian — this  is  the  man  who  for  ten  years  of  hard 
struggles  had  carried  a  republic  in  his  head  and  heart,  and  who 
both  before  and  after  that  solemn  hour  did  more  than  any  other 
to  restore  order  to  his  distracted  country.  When,  in  a  public 
reception,  a  captured  French  tri-color  was  spread  for  him  to 
walk  upon,  he  stepped  aside.  '  No,'  he  said,  '  the  French  are  not 
our  enemies,  it  is  only  their  emperor.  The  French  are  our 
friends,  and,  depend  upon  it,  that  flag  will  yet  wave  over  a 
republic'     A  prophecy  which  Juarez  lived  to  see  fulfilled." 

Juarez,  this  master  spirit,  died  in  1872,  and  was  succeeded  in 
the  presidency  by  Lerdo  de  Tejada. 

Mexico  is  a  republic  comprising  27  states,  besides  Lower  Cali- 
fornia and  the  federal  district.  The  capital  has  a  population 
of  about  250,000.  Her  political  system  is  chiefly  borrowed  from 
our  own,  and  is  nearly  its  counterpart.  The  president  is  elected 
for  four  years.  The  senate  has  56  members  chosen  for  six  years. 
The  house  of  deputies  331  members  whose  term  is  two  years. 
The  chief  justice,  elected  for  six  years,  is  vice-president  ex-ojficio. 
Each  state  has  its  local  constitution,  Avith  elective  governor  and 
legislature.  The  army  comprises  45,323  men.  The  navy  is 
nominal,  and  has  only  six  insignificant  gunboats.  There  are 
about  7000  miles  of  telegraph,  as  compared  with  about  110,000 
in  the  United  States.  Mexico  contains  12  inhabitants  to  the 
square  mile,  as  against  14  in  the  United  States.  The  relative 
areas  of  the  two  countries  are  as  one  to  five. 

Since  1880,  foreign  capital,  assisted  by  subsidies  promised  by 
the  government,  has  built  over  3,400  miles  of  railroad.  Of  the 
five  lines  which  are  to  enter  Mexico  from  the  north,  one,  the 


50  HISTORICAL    SKETCH    OF 

"Mexican  Central,"  has  been  completed,  and  Mexico  City  is  now 
nearer  to  New  York  than  ►San  Francisco  is.  Several  lines  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific  are  in  a  more  or  less  advanced 
state,  and  have  already  done  much  toward  developing  the 
country. 

The  new  moral  earnestness  in  Mexico  is  a  strong  reason  to 
hope  that  stability  will  replace  the  old  chaos.  By  state  decree, 
on  the  2oth  of  September,  1JS73,  the  Church  and  State  were 
separated  and  congress  precluded  from  ])assing  any  laws  to  pro- 
hibit or  to  establish  any  religion  ;  marriage  was  made  a  civil 
contract ;  slavery  was  abolished ;  the  aggrandizements  of  the 
n)onastic  orders  were  nationalized  in  behalf  of  public  educa- 
tion; the  property  of  religious  establishments  was  limited  by  law 
as  to  its  acquisition  and  its  amount.  Public  instruction  received 
a  mighty  impulse  and  is  still  rapidly  advancing. 

Primary  education  has  been  declared  compulsory,  but  the  law 
is  not  enforced.  In  1884,  there  were  in  Mexico  8,986  public 
elementary  schools  with  nearly  500,000  pupils;  and  138  for 
superior  and  professional  education,  with  an  attendance  of 
17,200.  The  government  spent  on  education  in  1884  over 
§8,000,000.  In  this  respect,  as  in  many  othere,  the  government 
and  the  party  of  progress  have  advanced  far  beyond  the  point 
at  which  tiiey  can  be  sustained  by  the  intelligence  and  the 
resources  of  the  nation  at  large.  A  reaction  is  manifest  in  many 
quarters.  The  severe  laws  passed  ten  years  ago  againt  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy  are  no  longer  rigidly  enforced,  and  in  some 
places  are  oj)enly  violated.  The  people  are  becoming  very 
jealous  of  foreign  influence,  and  they  especially  dread  that  of  the 
United  States.  The  priests  do  all  iii  their  power  to  foment  this 
feeling,  and  take  every  means  to  represent  our  missionaries  as 
political  agents  in  disguise,  whose  only  aim  is  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  annexation  of  Mexico  to  the  United  States.  The  govern- 
ment is  hampered  by  its  financial  embarrassments,  and  hesitates 
to  offend  the  conservatives  and  the  clerical  party,  whose  influence 
with  the  people  is  very  great. 

But  the  greatest  danger  is  that  in  the  flux  and  transition  caused 
by  the  profound  resentment  against  Romanism,  all  religion  is 
menaced  by  an  oscillation  toward  the  baldest  negativism.  Super- 
stition has  so  "  over-built "  the  foundations  as  to  be  apj)arently 
identical  with  them  ;  the  poisonous  ivy  has  loosened  the  walls  of 
the  Church.  What  is  really  Christian  has  been  so  misrepre- 
sented as  to  make  men  suspicious.  So  does  hypocrisy  ever 
disgust  from  the  very  truth  it  caricatures.  So  did  France,  for 
its  bitter  associations,  attempt  to  wipe  out  all  vestige  of  Chris- 
tianity.    So  did  Japan,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  rise  to 


THE   MISSIONS    IN    MEXICO.  51 

extirpate  the  last  remnant  of  what,  as  Jesuits  had  taught  it,  was 
not  strangely  called  "  Jashiu  mon  " — "  the  corrupt  sect."  (See 
The  Mikado's  Evipire,  chap,  xxv.) 

Secularism,  the  danger  of  this  age,  must  be  boldly  faced,  for 
if  the  tyranny  of  hierarchs  is  exchanged  only  for  the  self-rule  of 
infidelity,  the  last  state  of  Mexico  will  be  worse  than  the  first, 
and  anarchy  will  return.  Superstition  is  no  worse  enemy  to 
man  than  modern  nescience  and  material  epicureanism  ;  both 
can  persecute  or  seduce ;  and  so,  on  right  hand  and  left  hand  the 
onset  of  the  forces  of  damnation  must  be  met.  The  Christian 
panoply,  sword,  helmet,  breastplate,  shield,  sandals,  must  be 
furnished  the  converted  people.  Peace  must  be  a  garden,  not  a 
desert;  and  so,  soon  and  Avide,  the  seeds  of  truth,  "Avhose  life  is 
in  themselves,"  must  be  sowed  in  the  wake  of  God's  plowing. 
We  must  conquer  by  replacing.  With  tender,  eager,  sedulous 
care,  while  we  denounce  Kome's  sorcery,  we  must  lift  up  those 
whom  her  bewitchments,  in  their  flight,  have  left  upon  the 
ground. 

This  rule  must  not  yield  to  unrule  nor  self-rule,  but  to  the 
sovereignty  of  Christ.  Jehovah-nissi,  Jehovah-tsidkenu,  Jehovah- 
jireh,  Jehovah-shalom — these  must  be  the  new  watchwords  of 
Mexico's  regeneration.  In  the  words  of  one  of  her  recent 
martyrs — "  Let  Jesus  reign  ! " 

The  nascent  and  infant  Church  must  be  established  in  such 
truth  as  that  of  1  Peter  iii.  13-18.  Thus  is  set  open  a  great 
effectual  door,  and  (as  always)  there  are  many  adversaries. 
Communism  is  afloat,  insidious — deadly.  Spiritism  is  doing  its 
subterranean  work.  Mormonism  is  even  now  crawling  thither- 
ward to  weave  its  caterpillar  nests.  The  advance  must  be 
toilsome,  and  according  to  our  faithfulness,  oh,  fellow  Christians! 
One  Carmel  is  not  all ;  Jezebel  is  still  alive  ;  and  unless  we  take 
lessons  from  the  God  of  Elijah,  our  sudden  gain  will  have  bitter 
reaction.  Not  in  straight  lines,  but  in  spirals,  returning  con- 
tinually upon  themselves  while  really  moving  on  and  upward, 
does  the  kingdom  come.  The  new  impetus  is  not  yet  victory, 
but  only  opportunity.  The  acceptable  time  demands  also  an 
accepting  Church.  The  eloquent  occasion  speaks  in  vain  if  it 
speaks  to  sleepy  ears. 

Our  ranks  are  armed  and  furnished,  and  down  the  line 
thunders  the  Leader's  word — "charge!"  but  unless  we  obey 
orders  we  are  undone  and  defeated,  and  other  forces  must  carry 
the  heights !  Brave  men  for  brave  occasions  :  a  narcotized  and 
stupid  army,  even  though  the  cross  be  its  banner,  shall  be  smitten 
with  blindness,  apoplexy,  and  many  sorrows !  "  Speak  unto  the 
children  of  Israel  that  they  go  forward."  "  There  remaineth 
yet  very  much  land  to  be  possessed." 


52  msTolUCAL    SKKTCn    OF 

i:V A N( ; KLICA L    l'U( )( J RICSS. 

It  remains  to  summarizo  the  work  already  undertaken  toward 
fully  otiering  to  Mexico  that  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  which  is 
for  all  people. 

( a)  Since  John  Calvin  sent  his  mission  to  the  Brazils,  since 
Coligny  fostered  the  Huguenot  colonization  in  Florida,  the  Pres- 
byterian branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  been  in  the  van  of 
mission  ontorj)rise,  with  means  and  men. 

The  Bible,  as  we  have  seen,  found  its  way  into  Mexico  with 
our  armies  in  1<S47,  and  the  seed  sown  even  upon  the  floods  of 
strife  have  been  found  now  after  these  many  years. 

Be  it  remembered  that  the  firet  actual  work  wjis  done  by  that 
apostolic  woman.  Miss  Melinda  Kankin.  Her  simple  story, 
Twenfi/  Years  in  Mexico,  is  a  prominent  chapter  in  that  Provi- 
dence which  so  wonderfully  chooses  the  weak  things  (as  this 
world  reckons)  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty.  This 
single-handed  heroine,  strong  in  faith,  was  the  pioneer  of  the 
unalloyed  simplicity  of  Christ.  Her  story  should  be  carefully 
read.*  Miss  Rankin's  fii-st  approaches  were  made  in  1854,  in 
the  border  town  of  Brownsville,  Texas.  There  she  secured  a 
seminary  which  was  maintained  until  the  era  of  our  civil  war. 
The  revolution  of  1857,  proclaiming  religious  liberty,  opened 
Mexico  to  Protestant  laborers.  In  18()(),  Mr.  Thompson,  the 
first  agent  of  the  American  Jiible  Society,  began  work  at  Mata- 
moras.  Thither  ]Miss  Rankin  crossed  in  1864,  and  in  1805,  by 
her  own  j)lea  and  presence,  raised,  in  the  United  States,  81500 
to  forward  her  work  through  native  colporteurs,  whom  she 
hei-self  trained  and  sent  out. 

Her  work  at  ]\Ionterey  began  in  18()(),  and  was  the  means  of 
directing  the  Rev.  H.  C.  Riley  (of  whom  presently)  toward  this 
field  in  1^^(59,  and  of  hastening  the  efforts  of  our  own  Church. 
In  1872  the  General  Assembly  took  action,  and  on  September 
28d  of  that  year  our  first  band  sailed  from  New  York — the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Pitkin,  Thomson,  Phillips,  with  their  wives  and 
INIiss  Ellen  P.  Allen.  They  went  directly  to  the  capital.  There 
they  found  a  large  body  of  believers,  of  anti-j)relatical  convic- 
tions, embracing  some  nine  congregations,  who  at  once  solicited 
their  guidance.  Organization  began.  Method  and  coherency 
were  established,  liegular  church  life  was  instituted,  with  ordi- 
nances administered  scripturally,  and  the  sacraments  restricted 
to  such  as  nuide  pei-sonal  confession  of  their  faith  in  Christ.     In 


•The  writer  of  this  would  most  earnestly  urge  that  every  church  should  own  a 
living  and  growing  oolleetion  of  missionary  hooks,  accessible  to  the  congregation, 
the  sure  spml  of  an  incn'iising  intolligence  and  zeal  in  the  fast-reviving  devotion  to 
tlif  missionary  (■omiiiandnu-nts  of  our  Ijord. 


THE   MISSIONS    IN    MEXICO.  53 

January,  1873,  Rev.  M.  N.  Hutchinson,  with  his  wife,  formed 
the  mission  and  took  charge  of  the  work  in  the  capital. 

The  education  of  a  native  ministry  was  at  once  undertaken. 
A  popular  hymn-book  was  prepared,  which  has  since  been 
adopted  by  many  of  the  other  branches  of  the  Church  in 
Mexico.  Schools  for  girls  and  young  men  were  organized.  In 
1873,  work  was  begun  at  Zacatecas,  which  has  since  become  the 
centre  of  influence  for  the  Northern,  as  the  capital  is  for  the 
Southern  States.  From  these  two  points,  advances  were  made 
into  the  surrounding  country,  as  Providence  opened  the  way. 
Much  opposition  was  encountered,  especially  among  the  ignorant 
and  bigoted  population  of  the  more  remote  districts.  A  violent 
outbreak  took  place  at  Acapulco,  in  1875,  which  resulted  in  the 
death  of  several  persons,  and  for  some  years  put  an  end  to  all 
public  effort  in  the  state  of  Guerrero.  After  a  time,  a  humble 
Christian  woman,  Mathilde  Rodriguez,  was  employed  to  dis- 
tribute Bibles  and  tracts  in  that  region,  and  to  converse  with 
the  people  in  their  homes.  The  sacred  seed  was  not  scattered  in 
vain.  In  1884,  Rev.  J.  Milton  Greene,  accompanied  by  Rev. 
Procopio  Diaz,  one  of  the  sufferers  by  the  violence  of  the. 
mob  in  1875,  ventured  to  revisit  Guerrero.  They  were  eagerly 
received.  In  seven  weeks,  they  held  thirty-two  services,  estab- 
lished thirteen  congregations,  baptized  two  hundred  and  eighty 
persons  and  formed  six  churches,  with  elders  regularly  organized. 

In  1867,  Mr.  Forcada,  of  our  mission,  entered  Zitacuaro,  in 
the  State  of  Michoacan.  He  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  the 
way  all  prepared  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Six  years 
before,  a  Mexican  had  opened  a  book-store  there,  and  had  taken 
with  him  four  hundred  Bibles  and  a  large  box  of  tracts.  All 
these  had  been  sold  or  given  away,  and  for  six  years  had  been 
doing  their  silent  work.  To-day  we  have,  within  a  radius  of 
thirty-five  miles,  sixteen  congregations,  with  a  membership  of 
nearly  four  thousand,  and  the  field  is  one  of  such  fruitfulness 
and  promise  that  it  rivals  the  capital  in  impoi'tance. 

The  same  blessed  influence  has  been  at  work  in  Tabasco,  in  the 
extreme  southeast.  Four  years  ago  a  large  number  of  Bibles 
were  scattered  in  that  region  by  colporteurs  of  the  American 
Bible  Society.  In  1883  Mr.  Olivera,  a  young  graduate  of  our 
Theological  Seminary  in  Mexico  City,  volunteered  to  serve  in 
Tabasco.  He  was  gladly  received,  and  two  churches  were  at 
once  organized,  and  have  since  built  for  themselves  commodious 
houses  of  worship,  free  from  debt. 

The  efforts  of  the  mi.ssionaries  stationed  in  the  capital  have 
been  largely  directed  toward  developing  the  native  talent  both 
for  preaching  and  government,  so  that  as  soon  as  possible  the 
3 


54  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

work  may  he  left  entirely  to  the  Mexican  ministry.  The  Theo- 
lojrieal  Seminary  has  lately  heen  removed  to  San  Lnis  Potosi,  and 
is  now  under  the  direction  of  Kev.  JSIessrs.  H.  C  Thomson  and 
Iluhcrt  Brown.  There  are  now  in  training  twelve  youn<;  men, 
who  give  promise  of  etticiency  and  spirituality.  The  princi])al 
chapel  in  ]\lexico  City,  "  El  Divino  Salvador,"  is  under  the  charge 
of  Kev.  Arcadio  Morales,  an  etiective  preacher  and  a  judicious 
])astor.  There  are  several  suhsidiary  preaching-jdaces,  and  a 
mendjcr  of  Mr.  ^Morales'  church  is  about  to  build,  at  her  own 
expense,  a  place  of  woi'ship  for  a  congregation  recently  organized 
in  one  of  the  suburbs. 

The  girls'  boarding-school,  in  charge  of  Miss  Snow,  begun 
in  1882,  has  already  realizx'd  excellent  results.  In  1884  there 
were  twenty-three  boarding-pupils,  besides  a  large  number  of  day- 
scholars.  The  field  of  labor  open  to  educated  and  pious  Mexi- 
can women,  as  teachers  of  their  own  people  in  the  towns  and 
villages,  is  practically  unlimited.  Three  graduates  of  this  school 
are  now  (1885)  ready  for  this  work,  and  are  only  waiting  until 
the  Board  of  Foreign  ]Missions  feels  justified  in  undertaking  the 
support  of  any  new  schools. 

"  The  death  by  mob  violence  of  Kev.  Nicanor  Gomez  in  1884 
at  Almaloya,  about  forty  miles  from  the  capital,  is  worthy  of 
special  reference.  A  dozen  years  ago,  while  passing  along  the 
street,  he  was  attracted  to  a  book-stall,  at  which  he  found  a 
liible,  which  he  bought,  and  studied  with  his  family.  After  a 
while  he  invited  his  neighbors  to  meet  at  his  house  for  prayer 
and  Scripture-reading.  Thus  there  grew  up  a  small  congrega- 
tion, to  which  he  gave  up  the  principal  room  in  his  little  house. 
lie  had  lately,  mainly  by  his  own  labor  and  resources,  built  a 
small  chajjcl,  which  Avas  about  to  be  dedicated.  In  October, 
he  was  invited  by  a  few  Protestants  in  Almaloya  to  preach 
to  them  on  Sunday.  The  house  was  assailed  by  the  mob,  and 
Mr.  Gomez  was  so  seriously  injured  that  he  died  the  next  day." 

At  Zacatccas,  is  a  flourishing  church,  abundant  in  labors. 
They  have  a  beautiful  church  building,  second  only  to  the 
Koman  Catholic  cathedral,  and  two  suburban  mission-stations. 
This  church  has  been  greatly  blessed  in  the  presence  and 
labors  of  Dr.  G.  M.  Prevost,  who,  though  a  layman  laboring 
at  his  own  charges,  has  for  years  rendered  invaluable  service  to 
the  Mission.  Mrs.  Prevost  maintains  a  night  school  for  adults, 
and  a  class  of  women  and  girls  who  meet  weekly  for  reading  and 
needle- work.  Miss  Andrea  ^I.  Prevost  was  apj)ointed  in  1884 
to  o])en  a  day  school.  This  work  has  been  very  successful,  and 
there  are  now  over  sixty  pu])ils  in  attendance. 

At  Frcsnillo,  a  new  church,  mainly  the  gift  of  a  lady  from 
Pennsylvania,  was  dedicated  January,  1885,  under  circumstances 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    MEXICO.  55 

of  peculiar  interest  and  promise.  The  girls'  boarding-school  for 
this  region  is  at  Monterey,  under  the  charge  of  Miss  Cochran, 
and  has  tiiirty-four  pupils. 

The  first  Presbytery  was  organized  at  Zacatecas  in  May, 
1888,  when  ten  native  preachers  were  ordained.  Communication 
between  the  stations  has  been  so  much  facilitated  by  the  comple- 
tion of  the  railroad  from  El  Paso  to  Mexico  City,  that  it  has 
been  found  practicable  to  unite  the  Northern  and  ISouthern 
Missions  which  before,  conducted  their  work  separately.  The 
work  of  the  Mis?;ion  Press  is  of  great  interest  and  importance. 
In  January,  1885,  a  religious  paper.  El  Faro  was  started,  which 
it  is  hoped  will  do  much  good. 

We  have  now  in  Mexico  8  ordained  missionaries,  and  seven 
female  teachers;  a  total  native  force  of  71  helpers,  of  whom  17 
are  ordained  ministers  and  11  licentiates  ;  92  churches  with  6629 
communicants,  and  1238  children  in  the  Sunday-schools ;  thirty- 
live  schools  Avith  745  pupils,  and  12  students  for  the  ministry. 

The  roots  are  striking  down  and  out.  Churches,  even  in  deep 
poverty,  are  struggling  toward  self-help,  and  are  mutually  aiding 
one  another.  Modest  houses  of  worship  are  building.  Bible 
associations  for  common  study  multiply  apace.  The  law  and 
order  of  our  polity  (so  closely  knit  to  the  genius  of  representa- 
tive government,  being,  indeed,  the  mother  of  it)  is  gradually 
leavening  into  the  natives  an  appreciation  of  deliberative  counsel. 
These  children  of  a  day  are  yet  babes.  By  temper  and  habit 
the  people  are  migratory  and  uncertain.  The  climate  tends 
toward  an  idle  temper.  Even  in  religion  they  demand  siestas. 
Faith  without  works  and  enthusiasm  without  consistency  are  the 
tendency  of  this  volatile  and  impulsive  race. 

But  what  else  could  we  look  for?  Must  not  any  mighty  work 
come  by  process  ?  What  odds  are  against  brave  fidelity  every- 
where !  There  are  bright  lights  of  exception  on  every  hand. 
Stability  is  confirming.  Eagerness  is  settling  into  bone  and 
sinew  of  character.  "All  things  are  possible  with  God."  Family 
prayer  is  becoming  the  nursery  (in  that  oldest  church  of  God, 
the  hovxe)  of  a  better  generation.  Isolated  companies  of  believers 
are  integrating  in  zeal  and  knowledge,  and  making  ready  to 
exchange  milk  for  meat.  Busy  in  wide  preaching  tours  upon 
donkey-back, — giving  constant  hand-to-hand  instruction  by  way- 
side and  threshold, — talking  far  into  the  night  to  ready  groups, — 
our  missionaries  are  sowing  the  seed  broadcast  by  all  waters, 
"  sowing  for  time  and  eternity ;"  but  oh,  praying  how  fervently 
for  "more  laborers." 

"  How  great  their  work,  how  vast  their  charge ! 
Do  Thou  their  anxious  souls  enlarge  ; 
To  them  Tliy  sa':'red  truth  reveal, 
Suppress  their  tear,  intlame  their  zeal." 


56  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

{b)  Bosidos  our  own  work,  the  moveiiiont  now  closely  Identified 
with  the  Kpiseopal  Cluireh  in  the  I'liited  States  h;u-<  at  present  an 
iin|)(>rtant  claim  upon  our  attention. 

The  Kev.  Henry  C.  Riley,  a  intin  skilled  in  Spanish,  and  then 
the  minister  to  a  Spanish  con<;re^ation  in  New  York,  wa.s  sent  out 
hy  the  American  and  Forei^ni  Christian  Union  in  18(39.  He 
was  ahle,  hy  his  s|)ecial  trainin<;,  to  throw  himself  at  once  into  the 
work.  He  found  a  band  of  men  and  women  fully  alienated  from 
Rome,  yet  of  stroni;  Episcoj)alian  i)roclivities.  They  were  at  that 
time  as  sheep  havinir  no  shepherd  ;  the  remnant  of  an  important 
com]KUiy  that  had  heen  ^'athered  in  the  capital  in  1805,  and 
ministered  to  by  Francisco  Airuilas,  a  devout  and  biblical  Chris- 
tian, formerly  a  Roman  ecclesiastic.  Thou,u:h  dyin*,'^  after  three 
years  of  intense  labor,  he  had  beirun  what  craft  and  envy  could 
not  undo.  This  <jroup  warndy  welcomed  Mr.  Riley,  and  he,  with 
all  he  had,  threw  himself  into  their  cause.  With  rinifinti^  words, 
from  press  and  pulpit,  he  set  himself  to  the  ta.'^k,  beset  as  it  w'as 
with  menaces  to  his  very  life,  and  with  the  bitterest  op])osition  of 
a  spirit  determined  to  crush  him  out.  But  presently  a  Dominican 
friar,  Manuel  Agua.s,  of  high  honor  and  of  rare  gifts,  who  had 
beyn  selected  as  a  champion  to  refute  the  work  of  Mr.  Riley,  was 
led,  in  his  very  study  to  annihilate  the  inchoate  life  of  the  little 
church,  to  investigate,  see,  and  "  submit  to  the  righteousness  of 
God."  Like  a  new  Saul  he  began  to  ])reach  boldly  the  faith  he 
once  would  destroy,  and,  with  the  great  strides  of  a  regenerate 
spirit,  stej)ped  to  the  very  front  of  usefulness. 

With  great  power  he  gave  witness  of  the  truth  in  Jesus.  He 
shook  iniquity  to  its  roots.  He  challenged  Rome's  idolatries,  and 
with  piercingly  intelligent  thrusts  combated  them.  But  like  a 
surcharge  of  electricity  that  in  its  passage  consumes  the  wire  that 
carries  it,  so  the  zeal  of  God  ate  up  this  fearless  advocate,  and  he 
died  of  intense  toil  in  1872.  Mr.  Riley  became  the  diocesan  in 
1869.  The  work  went  on — not  without  perils.  More  than 
forty  martyrdoms  attended  its  advance — bloodshed  incited  by 
Romish  priests,  and  heralded  by  the  brutal  belfries  of  their 
churches!  This  work  was  fostered  by  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
the  United  States,  and  under  their  large  assistance.  From  the 
first  it  had  jieculiar  material  advantages.  When  Juarez,  in  1860, 
closed  the  Romish  establishments  as  "nuclei  of  sedition,"  and 
])ublic  scandals,  the  inmiense  ])roperty  confiscated  to  public  u.ses 
included  many  .sj)lendid  churches.  That  which  the  great  vampire 
had  sucked  from  the  nation's  veins  was  not  to  be  despoiled,  but 
guarded  as  in  trust  for  the  real  improvement  of  the  ))eo])le.  Three 
of  the  noble  old  cathedrals  were  granted,  at  nominal  prices,  to 
this  branch  of  the  Church. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN  MEXICO.  57 

The  capital  became  the  centre  of  their  activity,  and  they 
reported  at  one  time  6000  communicants.  Unfortunate  misun- 
denstandiufrs  and  differences  of  opinion  gradually  arose  between 
Bishop  Riley  and  the  authorities  of  the  Ej)iscopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  culminating  in  his  resignation  in  1<S88.  The  dis- 
sension and  strife  thus  gendered  have  had  a  most  disastrous  effect 
u})on  the  Mexican  congregations,  and  the  number  connected  with 
them  has  been  very  largely  reduced. 

(c)  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  made  rapid  progress 
since  its  entrance  in  1873.  The  Northern  branch  of  this  church  has 
a  w'ell-distributed  and  well-organized  force,  concentrated  for  the 
most  part  in  the  large  towns  along  the  railway  lines.  They  report 
nine  ordained  missionaries  and  six  female-workers.  A  Conference 
with  16  native  preachers  and  14  churches,  625  full  members,  674 
probationers,  and  over  700  Sabbath-school  scholars.  They  have 
acquired  valuable  church,  school  and  hosjjital  jirojierties,  to  the 
amount  of  $147,935 — a  most  inportant  equipment.  The  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  has  290  pupils  in  its  day-schools,  and 
a  large  Orphanage  in  Mexico  City. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  two  zealous  and 
fruitful  missions  in  Mexico :  (1.)  The  Central  Mission,  having  its 
centre  in  the  capital.  This  station  reports  five  missionaries, 
45  native  preachers,  26  native  teachers,  83  preaching  places,  65 
Sunday-schools,  with  1290  scholars,  and  nearly  1700  communi- 
cants. They  issue  from  their  own  press  a  monthly  religious  paper, 
with  a  circulation  of  1800  copies.  A  boarding-school  for  girls 
has  been  recently  ojiened  at  San  Luis  Potosi.  (2.)  The  Border 
Mission  of  this  Church,  in  the  region  of  the  Rio  Grande,  reports 
fortv-one  American  and  native  laborers,  and  a  membership  of 
1302. 

(d)  The  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  had  a  missionary, 
Mr.  Stevens,  Avith  his  Avife,  at  Almalulco.  He  received  much 
attention,  and  was  much  encouraged,  when,  March  2,  1874,  a 
brutal  mob,  under  the  direct  instigation  of  the  cura,  broke  into 
his  home,  and,  having  plundered  it,  killed  him  and  one  of  his 
converts,  with  shocking  mutilation.  This  Board  has  now  nine 
missionaries  in  Western  Mexico,  and  five  connected  w4th  its 
Northern  Mission,  of  which  Chihuahua  is  the  centre. 

(e)  The  mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  South,  is  on  both 
sides  of  the  Rio  Grande,  occupying  Matamoras,  Victoria  and 
Jiminez  in  Mexico,  and  Brow^lsville  in  Texas.  Their  first  Pres- 
bj'tery,  composed  entirely  of  natives,  Avas  organized  in  1884,  and 
consists  of  three  ministers  and  fixe  churches. 

(/)  Matamoras  is  also  the  centre  of  a  quiet  but  constantly-out- 
reaching  Avork  under  the  Society  of  Friends.     Their  efforts  are 


58  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

larp'Iv  devoted  to  estiiMishinjx  seljool.s  both  for  boys  and  jjirls, 
ami  to  ])ul)lishiiiir  relijri<»ii?=  mid  educational  bookt-,  whieli  have  a 
wide  cireuhition. 

(g)  In  1870,  the  American  Ba])tist  Home  Mission  Society 
assumed  tlie  su])|)ort  of  Rev.  T.  M.  Westrup,  who  liad  ])reviously 
i)een  enii)loyed  by  the  American  Bible  Society.  They  have  now 
seven  native  and  foreign  preachers,  and  report  about  300  church 
meml)ers. 

(h)  The  Southern  Baptist  Convention  occupied  Saltillo  in 
18^(0 ;  they  re])ort  nine  missionaries,  and  nuich  encouragement  in 
their  labors. 

(i)  The  Aissociate  Reformed  Synod  of  the  South  has  a  mission 
at  Tam])ico,  in  charge  of  Rev.  N.  E.  Prcssly  and  wife.  They 
report  50  communicants. 

As  tlie  result  of  what  ha.s  been  done  in  Mexico  during  the  past 
13  years,  there  are  now  at  least  16,000  Protestant  communicants 
in  regular  churches;  and  this  can  only  be  a  partial  measure  of 
the  influences  that  have  been  set  afoot.  That  such  work  could  be 
done  at  all  is  much,  and  that  it  could  be  done  with  a  force  rela- 
tively so  inadequate  is  much  more ;  and  both  thoughts  plead 
])owerfully  with  God's  Cliurch  to  meet  more  than  half  way  this 
nation  that  is  to-day  stretcliing  out  her  hands.  These  plastic 
years  are  the  receptive  and  fashi(jning  ones ;  the  iron  is  on  the 
anvil.  It  is  the  hour  of  free  access  to  the  people.  They  are 
reading  everything  from  Voltaire  to  Renan.  Skepticism  is  becom- 
ing tlie  rage,  and  is  a  most  curious  medley  of  fifteenth  and  nine- 
teenth-century errors :  we  must  carry  in  the  immutable  words  of 
the  Saviour !  The  Mexican  Sunday  is  a  day  of  gala  and  folly, 
of  noise  and  traffic :  we  must  carry  there  the  hallowed  Lord's 
day!  In  this  fa'tal  and  fashioning  hour  not  only  something  must 
be  done,  but  everything ! 

Now  is  the  time — the  time  to  pour  in  forces  to  a  new  Mexican 
war,  but  not  now  against  Mexico,  but  for  her;  not  with  carnal 
weapons,  but  with  those  which  are  "mighty  through  God."  Now 
is  the  hour  for  us  to  tell  our  neighbors  the  secret  of  the  great 
things  (}()d  has  done  for  us,  that,  desiring  to  cojiy  our  prosperity, 
they  may  a])j)re('iatc  its  foundation  in  the  wealtli  of  Him  in  wliom, 
richer  than  all  silver  and  gold  of  Mexico's  mines,  are  "hid  all  the 
treasures  of  the  knowledge  and  wisdom  of  God  "  The  guarantees 
of  a  noble  future  to  Mexico  lie  only  in  the  sovereignty  of  Christ. 
Oh,  let  as  hear  the  call  and  heed  the  claims  of  God  for  that 
country,  and  in  live  earnestness  seize  the  hour!  Let  us  send 
S(|uadr(jns  where  liitherto  we  have  sent  scouts.  Wanted,  recruits 
for  the  armv  of  Christ  Jesus!     "  Who  will  <iO  for  us?" 


THE    MISSIONS   IN    MEXICO. 


59 


Rev.  J.  M.  Greene, 
Miss  Fannie  C.  Snow, 


Missionaries,  1885. 

Mexico  City,  Occupied  1872. 

I    Miss  V.  A.  Disosway. 


Zacatecas,  Occupied  1873. 
Rev.  T.  F.  Wallace  and  wife.  I    Rev.  E.  M.  Haymaker  and  wife. 

Miss  Andrea  M.  Prevost.  |    Frcsnillo:  Miss  M.  Wilnia  Jacobs. 

San  Luis  Potosi,  Occupied  1873. 
Rev.  H.  C.  Thomson  and  wife.  |    Rev.  Hubert  Brown. 

Jerez,  Occupied  1880. 
Rev.  D.  J.  Stewart  and  wife.  |   SaltiUo :  Rev.  M.  E.  Beall, 

Monterey,  Occupied  1877. 
Rev.  Isaac  Boyce  and  wife,  |    Miss  Mary  E.  Cochran. 

In  this  country :  Mrs.  Greene. 

Missionaries  in  Mexico,  1872-1885. 

*  Died.    Figures,  term  of  service  iu  the  field. 

Allen,  Miss  E.  P., 
Beall,  Rev.  M.  E., 
■■••Beall,  Mrs., 
Boyce,  Rev.  Isaac, 
Boyce,  Mrs., 
Burdick,  Miss  D.  G., 
Cochran,  Miss  A.  D., 
Cochran,  Miss  M.  E., 
Coopwoud,  Mrs.  E., 
De  Jesi,  L.  M., 
Forbes,  ]Miss  M.  G., 
Greene,  Rev.  J.  M., 
Greene,  Mrs. 
Haymaker,  Rev.  E.  M. 
Haymaker,  Mrs., 
Heunequin,  Miss  L.  A.  H., 
Hutchinson,  Rev.  M.  N., 
Hutchinson,  Mrs., 
Jacobs,  Miss  M.  W., 
Keil,  Rev.  A.  P., 
Keil,  Mrs., 


Books  and  Articles  op  Reference. 

Article  in  the  British  Encyclopedia. 

Article  in  Johnson's  Encyclopedia. 

Article  in  The  Century  Magazine,  November,  1881. 

Pascoe's  "  Indian  Tribes  of  Mexico." 

Prescott's  "  Conquest  of  Mexico." 

Haven's  "Our  Next  Door  Neighbor. 
"Our  Sister  Republic."  A.  S.  Evans. 
"  Twenty  Years  among  the  Mexicans." 

Old  Mexico  and  Her  Lost  Provinces. 


1872-1876 

Latimer,  Mrs.  L.  M., 

1881-1883 

1883- 

*Leason,  Miss  M.  E., 

1876-1877 

1883-1885 

McFarren,  Miss  Kate, 

1883-1885 

1884- 

Ogdea,  Rev.  Rollo, 

1882-1883 

1884- 

Ogden,  Mrs., 

1882-1883 

1883-1884 

Pliillips,  Rev.  M., 

1872-1881 

1879-1882 

Phillips,  Mrs.. 

1872-1881 

1879- 

Pitkin,  Rev.  P.  H., 

1872-1873 

1884-1885 

Polhemus,  Rev.  I.  H., 

1879-1881 

1882-1884 

Polhemus,  Mrs., 

1879-1881 

1877-1880 

Prevost,  Miss  A.  M., 

1884- 

1881- 

Shaw,  Rev.  Harvey, 

1882-1883 

1881- 

Shaw,  Mrs. 

1882-1883 

1884- 

Snow,  Miss  F.  C, 

1881- 

1884- 

Stewart,  Rev.  D.  J., 

1875- 

,1877-1881 

Stewart,  Mrs., 

1881- 

1872-1880 

Thomson,  Rev.  H.  C, 

1872- 

1872-1880 

Thomson,  Mrs., 

1872- 

1883- 

Wallace,  Rev.  T.  F. 

1878- 

1879-1883 

Wallace,  Mrs., 

1878- 

1879-1883 

Wilson,  Rev.  S.  T., 

1882-1884 

$3.50. 
$3.00 

Miss  Rankin.     $1.25. 

W.  H.  Bishop.    $2.00. 


Rev.  WM.  BRENTON  GREENE,  Je. 


3* 


MISSIONS  IN  GUATEMALA. 


Toward  the  close  of  the  year  1882  the  Rev.  John  C.  Hill,  who 
had  for  ten  years  been  a  successful  pastor,  proceeded  with  Mi's. 
Hill,  under  appointment  of  the  Board,  to  organize  alone  the  first 
Protestant  Mission  in  the  Republic  of  Guatemala.  From  the 
outset  the  success  has  been  such  that  he  writes  that  "he  has 
never  for  a  day  been  other  than  thankful  that  he  has  been 
allowed  by  God,  to  be  the  one  to  lay  the  foundations  of  Protestant 
Christianity  in  that  land." 

It  will  be  interesting  to  inquire  into  the  character  of  the 
country  and  the  people,  and  into  the  condition  and  prospects  of 
the  Avork,  which  called  forth  such  apostolic  devotion,  and  which 
seem  likely  to  issue  in  such  apostolic  results. 

I.  The  country. — Guatemala  is  the  most  western  of  the 
states  of  Central  America.  Its  area  is  40,777  square  miles,  about 
five  times  that  of  New  Jersey.  The  surface  of  the  country  is 
very  broken.  The  greater  part  is  elevated  five  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level.  On  the  Pacific  coast  there  is  a  strip  of  flat  land 
thirty  miles  wide.  To  this  succeed  the  lofty  coast  mountains, 
many  of  them  active  or  extinct  volcanoes,  with  their  noble  peaks 
Pacaya,  Agua,  and  Fuega.  The  interior  is  a  succession  of  moun- 
tains and  valleys.  What  has  been  said  of  almost  every  country 
is  specially  applicable  to  Guatemala,  "  The  scenery  is  the  finest 
in  the  world."  Rivers  and  streams  are  numerous ;  those  on  the 
western  side  are  the  shorter,  owing  to  the  abrupt  descent.  In 
the  rainy  season  they  are  dashing  torrents,  and  add  much  to  the 
divereity  of  the  landscape.  The  principle  metals  are  gold,  silver, 
copper  and  iron ;  and  these  are  abundant. 

The  climate  is  as  fine  as  the  scenery.  Because  of  the  elevation 
of  the  country,  tropical  diseases  are  almost  unknown.  Even  the 
best  insurance  companies  do  not  charge  any  extra  premiums  for 
residence  there.  The  coast,  though  not  so  salubrious  as  the 
interior,  is  far  less  unhealthy  than  is  commonly  supposed.  The 
temperature  in  the  capital  is  almost  the  same  throughout  the 
year.  The  beginning  of  January  is  like  a  warm  June  in  central 
New  York.  There  is  a  rainy  season  from  May  to  October.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil  is  such  that  in  many  localities  three  crops  of 

63 


64  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

corn  are  raised  annually,  and  ;,m>(»(1  crops  of  grass  are  gathered 
ever\'  few  weeks.  Fanning  is  never  suspended.  Almost  any- 
thing in  the  vegetable  kingdom  will  thrive.  The  staple  is  coffee, 
though  many  capitalists  are  turning  their  attention  to  the  raising 
of  rubber.  For  consumjition  in  the  country,  sugar,  good  rice, 
fair  cotton,  wool,  and  a  mild  kind  of  tobacco  are  produced. 

II.  The  People. — T\\c  population  is  made  up  of  whites  (180,- 
000),  mostly  descended  from  the  early  Spanish  settlei*s;  mestizoes 
(300,000),  the  children  of  whites  and  Indians ;  negroes,  pure 
and  mixed  (8,000)  ;  and  pure  blooded  Indians  (720,000) ;  total 
1,20<S,000.  The  Indians,  as  a  rule,  live  by  themselves,  and  are 
much  superior  to  those  of  our  country.  The  civil  authorities 
immediately  governing  them  are  commonly  chosen  from  their 
own  race. 

Hkiory. — The  coast  of  this  region  was  discovered  by  Columbus 
in  1502;  the  country  was  made  a  Spanish  dependency  in  1524, 
and  was  erected  into  a  captain-generalcy  in  1527  by  Charles  V. 
In  1821  Guatemala  threw  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  and  in  1823 
became  a  part  of  the  Central  American  federal  republic.  In 
1839  the  territory  of  the  latter  was  diminished  by  the  seces- 
sion of  Honduras,  and  in  1851  Guatemala  separated  from  the 
confederation,  as  an  independent  republic.  By  proclamation 
of  President  Barrios,  March  15th,  1873,  religious  liberty  was 
guaranteed  to  all,  and  during  his  administration  trade  and  general 
prosperity  greatly  increased.  In  1884  Avar  broke  out  between 
Guatemala  and  San  Salvador,  in  consequence  of  a  decree  from 
President  Barrios  for  the  union  of  all  the  Central  American 
States.  At  the  outset  of  the  conflict  the  President  was  killed, 
and  the  government  has  since  been  maintained  by  a  temporary 
successor  Barillos.  He  has  retained  several  membei's  of  the 
former  cabinet,  and  it  is  believed  that  he  will  be  influenced  by 
the  same  enlightened  policy  as  his  predecessor. 

Condition  of  the  People. — In  the  cities  they  enjoy  most  of  the 
blessings  of  civilization.  Into  the  capital  water  has  been  intro- 
duced. The  streets  are  wide  and  paved  with  stone,  and  lighted 
with  gasoline  lamps.  Good  order  is  maintained  by  a  fine  body 
of  police.  The  cleanliness  of  the  city,  the  peaceable  character 
of  the  people,  the  excellence  of  the  jjublic  buildings ;  which  are 
broad  and  low  that  they  may  withstand  earthquakes,  are  all 
sources  of  amazement  to  the  foreigner. 

Education,  however,  though  improving,  is  most  imperfect.  In 
the  capital  only  one-fiflh  of  the  people  can  read.  In  the  country 
at  large  the  proportion  is  as  low  as  one-tenth, 

Nor  can  a  more  favorable  report  be  made  as  to  morals. 
Drunkenness   is   fearfully   prevalent   among   the   lower   classes. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   GUATEMALA.  65 

especially  among  the  Indians.  The  social  corruption  is  astound- 
ing. The  same  picture  is  presented  that  we  have  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Romans. 

Religion. — Roman  Catholicism  is  and  has  been  the  one  religion. 
In  1883  it  was  estimated  that  in  the  capital  there  were  not  fifteen 
actual  communicants  of  Protestant  Churches.  As  in  Mexico, 
however,  so  here,  Romanism  has  sunk  even  lower  than  the  people 
whom  she  has  degraded.  The  result  is  that  they  have  lost  con- 
fidence in  their  church.  Nothing  is  done  to  sup])ly  the  spiritual 
void,  and  it  is  assumed  that  a  purely  secular  education  is  the 
only  need  of  the  country.  Hence,  the  educated  classes  are 
drifting  into  all  forms  of  infidelity,  while  the  condition  of  the 
people  at  large,  says  Mr.  Hill,  "is  that  of  gross  ignorance  of  what 
Christianity  really  is.''  In  the  words  of  an  intelligent  Romanist 
from  Europe,  "  they  are  not  Catholics,  but  heathen." 

III.  Mission  Work  in  Guatemala  has  thus  far  been  carried 
on  exclusively  by  our  Board.  Early  in  1882  their  attention  was 
for  the  second  time  called  to  this  field.  Assurances  were  given 
of  the  sympathy  of  President  Barrios  with  Protestant  Missions. 
The  Jesuits  had  been  expelled,  and  religious  liberty  prevailed  in 
the  republic.  These  facts,  and  the  considerations  that  in  the 
whole  country  there  was  not  one  Protestant  service,  and  that  in 
the  capital  were  many  Europeans  and  Americans  who  might  be 
expected  soon  to  make  an  English  service  self-sustaining,  led  to 
the  appointment  by  our  Board  of  Rev.  John  C.  Hill  and  his 
wife,  as  the  first  Protestant  missionaries  to  Guatemala. 

Progress  in  1883. — The  plan  adopted  was  to  gather  an  Eng- 
lish speaking  congregation  and  organize  a  Protestant  Church. 
Services  were  held  for  a  time  in  private  residences,  with  an 
increase  from  week  to  week  until  about  forty  were  present.  It 
was  not  long  before  a  house  within  two  squares  of  the  centre 
of  the  city,  and  at  a  merely  nominal  sum,  was  rented  from 
the  President,  and  a  committee  of  gentlemen  were  soliciting 
contributions  toward  furnishing  it.  By  April  27th,  the  new 
missionaries  were  fully  established,  and  were  encouraged  espe- 
cially by  the  attendance  of  natives.  The  young  men  seemed  to 
be  particularly  attracted.  The  patronage  of  leading  citizens, 
both  English  and  native,  was  ofiered  if  schools  should  be  opened. 
A  Sunday-school  was  organized,  and  was  attended  by  the  children 
of  the  President  and  by  others  in  high  positions.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  year  the  new  chapel  was  filled.  Even  the  rain  could 
not  keep  the  people  away.  In  the  main,  they  were  intelligent 
artisans,  and  were  as  well  behaved  and  attentive  as  could  be 
desired.  Some  came,  notwithstanding  that  their  crafts  were 
thereby  endangered. 


66  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Progress  in  1884. — In  January  ISIiss  M.  L.  Hammond  and  Miss 
Annie  K.  Ottaway  arrived.  The  school  oriianized  by  them  on 
January  'J-'^th,  was  reeeived  with  threat  favor  hy  the  people. 
There  were  more  a|)plieations  than  could  be  entertained,  and  the 
desire  was  <rent'rally  expressed  that  bcjardei-s  us  well  :i.s  day- 
scholai-s  should  be  aeeommodated. 

Work  amonjr  the  Spanisli  was  taken  up  l)y  ^Ir.  Hill  in  con- 
nection with  f^enor  Don  Louis  Caiud,  a  licentiate  preacher  from 
Mexico.  The  ministrations  of  the  latter  attracted  large  numbei's. 
Between  four  and  five  thousand  persons  must  have  heard  him 
at  lei\st  once  from  curiosity,  though  the  number  of  regular 
attendants  was  not  over  thirty.  Five  hopeful  converts  were 
the  result  of  these  services.  This  success  was  treated  with  indif- 
ference by  the  priests.  Indeed,  the  latter  do  not  appear  even 
to  have  alluded  to  it.  Mr.  Canal  has  since  been  dismissed  from 
the  service. 

On  the  22d  of  December,  eight  persons,  seven  of  them  natives, 
were  constituted  a  church  according  to  the  Presbyterian  form  of 
government,  so  far  as  its  provisions  would  a})ply  to  a  country 
where  there  was  no  presbytery  and  but  one  presbyter.  After 
organization,  Senor  Don  Jose  Victor  Sanchez,  a  man  of  great 
piety  and  of  European  education,  was  elected  an  Elder. 

Progress  in  1885. — On  Sabbath,  January  4th,  the  first  com- 
munion was  celebrated,  the  cha])el  being  filled  to  the  utmost  by 
foreigners  and  natives.  Even  at  this  distance  every  particular 
was  read  with  interest  concerning  the  little  group  of  persons 
who  there  attracted  so  nmch  attention ;  two  carpenters,  one 
watchmaker,  one  railroad  overseer,  one  clerk,  one  soldier,  one 
school-master,  the  youthful  son  of  one  of  the  missionaries,  the 
missionaries  themselves.  There  must,  indeed,  have  been  joy  in 
heaven  as  for  the  fii-st  time  in  Guatemala  the  Saviour's  dying  love 
was  thus  commemorated  in  the  manner  of  his  own  appointment. 

During  the  year  the  Spanish  services  were  maintained  by  Mr. 
Hill  alone,  with  an  attendance  of  from  fifty  to  sixty,  mainly  from 
the  artisan  class.  He  also  carrie<l  on  the  English  service, 
with  congregations  varying  from  thirty  to  forty.  Eighty-nine 
persons  were  enrolled  as  habitual  attendants,  but  thirty-six  left 
the  city  during  the  year.  The  plan  of  weekly  ofterings  was 
adopted  in  both  congregations,  and  the  amount  rai.sed  for  self- 
support  thereby  doubled.  Moreover,  the  chapel  was  presented 
with  an  elegant  pulpit,  the  gift  and  work  of  the  carpenters 
employed  by  the  Guatemala  Central  Railroad  Company.  A  few 
German  friends  of  the  Mission  gave  to  the  native  congregation  a 
beautiful  comnuinion  set. 

The  girls'  school,  under  the  name  of  "  El  Collegico  Ameri- 


THE   MISSIONS    IN    GUATEMALA.  67 

cano,"  continued  to  receive  a  fair  degree  of  patronage,  notwith- 
standing that  during  the  first  year  it  had  been  much  embarrassed 
for  want  of  books,  and  that,  because  of  whooping  cough,  its 
sessions  had  been  suspended  for  some  time. 

To  a  considerable  extent  the  war  troubles  hindered  the  progress 
of  the  mission,  but  at  the  date  of  writing  it  is  thought  that  the 
disturbance  will  be  only  trivial. 

Methods. — The  main  reliance  is  on  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
The  sermons,  however,  are  not  always  of  the  simplest  character. 
Such  topics  as  the  evidences  of  Christianity  and  the  admissions  of 
Renan  are  often  discussed.  This  is  required  by  the  intelligence 
and  the  skepticism  of  the  upper  classes. 

Bible  Class  Teaching. — The  Wednesday  evening  service  has  been 
taking  this  form.  Old  and  young  attend.  The  lessons  used  are 
those  of  the  International  Series.  Attention  is  called  specially 
to  what  Christianity  is  as  exhibited  in  the  precedents  in  the  Acts. 
The  popular  idea  is  thus  overcome  that  the  Evangelical  Church 
has  no  relation  to  Christianity,  but  is  merely  a  kind  of  Free- 
mason Society. 

Bible  and  Tract  Distribution. — This  is  carried  on  as  fiir  as 
practicable.  Many  Bibles  are  purchased,  and  some  of  the  tracts 
given  away  are  bringing  forth  fruit. 

Singing. — By  this  means  many  are  drawn  into  the  services,  for 
the  people  are  exceedingly  fond  of  music. 

The  Week  of  Prayer  luis  been  observed  with  great  profit.  Over 
fifty,  among  them  several  students,  have  attended,  and  a  few  of 
the  natives  have  been  induced  to  take  part. 

The  Girls'  School. — Though  last  mentioned,  this  is  not  the  least 
imjjortant  of  the  agencies  employed.  Through  it  the  people  are 
coming  to  realize  the  sujieriority  of  Christian  education,  and  so 
of  Christianity  itself. 

IV.  Encouragements. — These  are  found : 

1.  In  the  Spirit  of  Progress  now  universal  in  Guatemala.  It 
is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  first  mission  to  this  country 
should  have  been  undertaken  just  when  it  was.  Every  interest 
has  recently  sprung  into  new  life.  A  new  religion  is,  therefore,  in 
keeping  with  the  times  and  ought  to  receive  an  impetus  from  them. 

2.  The  Press. — This  is  fearless  in  its  denunciation  and  exposure 
of  Romanism,  and  thus  clears  the  ground  for  evangelical  truth. 

3.  The  Attitude  of  the  Government. — Absolute  religious  liberty 
is  enjoyed.  President  Barrios,  though  not  a  Christian,  gave  his 
influence  in  favor  of  Protestant  Missions.  It  is  believed  that  his 
successor  will  do  the  same.  Some  warm  Romanists,  moreover, 
are  like-minded,  feeling  that  our  missions  will  tend  to  purify 
their  church. 


CyR       HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  MISSIONS  IN  GUATEMALA. 

4.  In  tlie  Character  of  the  Converts  and  of  the  Attendants  at 
woivliip.  Most  of  these  are  hiirhly  intelli<;ent,  many  of  them  are 
younfr,  some  of  them  are  much  in  earnest.  The  disposition  to 
self-su])port  is  inereasiiijr. 

o.  In  the  Besults  attained  within  less  than  three  years,  viz  : 

One  ordained  missionary,  Rev.  J.  C.  Hill  and  Mi-s.  J.  C.  Hill; 
two  unmarried  lady  missionaries,  Miss  M.  L.  Hammond  and 
Miss  Annie  E.  Ottaway;  one  native  hel])er,  Senor  Don  Jose 
Victor  Sanchez ;  one  Spanish  church  with  eight  communicants ; 
a  union  English-speaking  congregation,  though  unorganized; 
twenty-seven  pui)ils  in  the  day  school ;  contributions  during  the 
past  year  amounting  to  S200. 

And  yet,  in  view  of  the  work  to  be  done,  this  is  merely  a  be- 
ginning. In  the  ca})ital,  with  its  60,000  souls,  are  but  five  Chris- 
tian missionaries  and  teachers.  Within  a  radius  of  seventy -five 
miles  are  fifteen  towns,  ranging  in  population  from  r),()()0  to 
25,000,  and  as  accessible  to  the  truth  as  is  J*hiladelphia,  and  yet 
the  pure  Gospel  is  never  even  named  in  one  of  them.  In  a  coun- 
try like  ours,  in  which  there  is  already  a  church  for  every  four 
hundred  people,  are  there  not  some  who  can  heed,  as  well  as  hear 
the  call,  "  Come  over  into  Guatemala  and  help  us." 


BY 


Rev.  GEORGE   HOOD. 


70    till  I  ail  lutf  Wi  st   ,  »)         fiHUu  U-cMWu  h SO 


C^eCmW^j-JL      -^        ^^^  <»•    J  JUDIES 


"' ' " '"^'^''iwi?'''^^^^^^ 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


The  discovery  of  America  was  a  happy  accident,  which  occur- 
red while  Columbu^J  was  searching  for  a  western  pa.ssage  to  the 
Ea>t  Indies.  Aided  by  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain  in  his  first 
two  voyages,  no  sooner  had  he  discovered  the  Greater  and  Lesser 
Antilles  than  he  took  possession  of  them  in  the  name  of  Spain 
and  the  pope.  It  was  on  his  third  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  in 
1498,  that  he  first  landed  on  the  northeastern  coast  of  South 
America,  and  so,  nearly  the  whole  peninsula  was  thus  pre-empted 
by  the  Roman  Catholics  for  their  Church.  The  whole  country, 
too,  continued  under  Spanish  and  Portuguese  rule  until  far  into 
this  century,  when,  one  after  another,  the  sevei'al  states  became 
independent. 

South  America  is  a  great  peninsula,  pointing  to  the  south,  and 
connected  with  North  America  by  the  narrow  Isthmus  of  Panama. 
It  is  remarkable  for  its  majestic  rivers  and  its  lofty  mountains. 
The  Andes,  on  the  west,  follow  the  coast-line  from  Panama 
to  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  their  snow-capped  tops  often  rising 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Of 
course  the  countiy  is  irregular  and  broken;  but  it  abounds  in 
fruitful  valleys,  fertile  plains  and  table-lands,  and  its  mineral 
resources  are  rich  and  varied. 

It  extends  from  about  12°  north  latitude  to  55°  south — 67° 
north  and  south,  or  four  thousand  six  hundred  miles ;  and  from 
35°  to  80°  west  longitude,  or  over  three  thousand  miles  east 
and  west.  It  is  divided  into  fourteen  states,  in  three  of  which 
— Colombia,  Chili  and  Brazil — the  Presbyterian  Board  has 
missions. 

UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA. 

After  the  war  which  gave  it  independence,  this  country 
embraced  all  the  territory  now  comprised  in  Colombia,  Venezuela 
and  Ecuador.  It  was  a  conspicuous  republic ;  but  containing 
a  people  diverse  and  without  natural  unity,  ignorant  and  vicious 
they  were  the  cause  of  its  dissolution,  and  the  three  republics 
of  Colombia,  Venezuela  and  Ecuador  were  the  result.  The 
United  States  of  Columbia  is  situated  in  the  northwest  part  of 

71 


72  niSTOKICAL   SKETCH    OF 

South  America,  adjoining  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  It  is  a  repub- 
lic after  tlie  Lrt'ncral  pattern  of  our  own,  and  was  formerly  called 
Is'ew  Granada.  It  includes  the  northern  extremity  of  the  plateau 
of  the  Andes,  and  the  extreme  northwestern  part  contains  the 
imjtortant  route  from  the  Caribbean  .Sea  to  the  Pacific,  l)y  way 
of  Aspinwall  and  Panama. 

Colombia,  lying  just  north  of  the  etpiator,  is,  by  virtue  of  its 
location,  a  warm  country  ;  but  being  j)rincipally  an  elevated  ])la- 
teau,  the  heat  is  greatly  modified.  Bogota,  the  capital,  stands 
H')()0  feet  al)ove  the  .sea-level,  and  enjoys  a  mild  and  genial 
climate.  Cartagena,  on  the  other  hand,  is  low,  hot,  damp  and 
unhealthy.  The  republic  has  a  fertile  soil,  and  ])roduces  the 
troj)ical  fruits,  cotton,  sugar,  indigo,  coffee,  etc.,  and  abounds  in 
minerals  and  precious  metals.  Colombia,  being  situated  on  the 
backbone  of  South  America,  skirting  the  Pacific,  is  subject  to 
volcanoes  and  earthquakes.  Popayan,  in  1834,  was  almost 
entirely  destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  like  Caraccas  in  Venezuela. 

Colond)ia  contains  321,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
3,050,000 — only  9.5  inhabitants  to  the  scjuare  mile,  or  less  than 
one-fifteenth  of  tlie  number  it  is  capable  of  sustaining.  Their 
religion  is  the  Roman  Catholic,  and  the  people  are  like  others 
under  the  papal  rule.  The  inhabitants  are  made  up  of  Spaniards 
(about  50  ])er  cent.),  negroes  (35  per  cent.)  and  Indians  (15  per 
cent.) — often  mixed  until  original  characteristics  are  lost.  The 
Spaniards  in  wealthy  and  refined  families,  hoAvever,  have  retained 
l)ure  race-blood,  and  are  the  ruling  power.  The  mass  of  the  pop- 
ulation, and  even  the  priests,  are  ignorant,  degraded  and  immoral. 
For  tliree  hundred  years  the  papal  religion  has  been  regnant ; 
and  though  now  Protestant  denominations  are  tolerated  by  the 
constitution,  yet  still  they  are  denounced  and  persecuted  by  the 
priests.* 

Kot  Colombia  alone,  but  all  South  America,  Central  America 
and  ]\Iexico,  have  felt  the  crushing,  deadening  influence  of  the 
papal  })olicy.  Three  hundred  years  of  undisputed,  uninfluenced 
power  over  the  education  and  religion  of  the  Indians,  negroes  and 
the  amalgamated  masses,  has  still  left  them  little  better  than 
pagans,  with  an  admixture  of  papal  forms  based  in  Christianity. 

*It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  Romanism  as  a  system  of  eeclesiasticism,  exeent  to 
say  tliat  wlierever  it  has  Ijeeome  the  faith  of  a  i)eople  it  has  in  some  way  (leprivea  tlie 
gospel  of  its  transforming  and  sanetifyinft  ])ower,  it  has  interfered  with  liberty  of 
eonseienee,  it  lias  trampled  under  fo<jt  the  rights  of  man,  it  has  subsidized  everything 
it  could  f{ra.sp  for  its  own  agprandizement,  and  has  seized  upon  the  control  of  educa- 
tion and  the  reins  of  political  intluenee.  As  a  religion  it  has  ignored  the  simplicity  of 
the  gos]iel,  corriiijted  and  degraded  many  of  the  doctrines  of  the  -^^ross,  and  adapted 
itself  to  the  human  lieart  l)y  pandering  to  its  pride  and  self-seeking  by  means  of  pen- 
ances and  meritorious  deeds.  As  a  Church  it  is  bitter,  relentless  and  persecuting  to- 
wards others,  and  in  itself  it  is  the  monopoly  of  pride  and  arrogance,  worldliness  and 
error,  idolatry  and  superstition.— SotifA  American  Missions.    By  Rev.  A.  L.  Blackford. 


THE    MISSIONS    IN   SOUTH    AMERICA.  73 


MISSION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA. 

The  first  missionary  of  our  Board  to  South  America  was  Rev. 
Thomas  L'Hombral,  who  was  sent  to  Buenos  Ayi'es  in  1853.  He 
remained  only  six  yeai*s,  and  the  mission  was  discontinued.  The 
next  missionary,  Rev.  Horace  B.  Pratt,  was  sent  to  New  Gran- 
ada, now  the  United  States  of  Colombia.  He  reached  his  field, 
Bogota,  June  20,  185G.  At  that  time  the  government  interposed 
no  hindrances ;  but  the  swarming  priests  were  prodigal  of  imped- 
iments, and  the  ignorance  of  the  masses  greatly  retarded  the  cir- 
culation of  truth  through  the  press.  "  He  found  among  the  youth 
and  the  men  no  love  for  the  Church,  but  a  widespread  deism ;  he 
found  a  low  standard  of  morality  everywhere  prevalent,  the  utter 
absence  of  spiritual  life,  and  a  resting  only  in  outward  ceremon- 
ials for  an  inward  preparation  for  the  life  to  come." — South 
American  Missions. 

In  1858  this  mission  was  reinforced  by  Rev.  Samuel  M. 
Sharpe  and  his  wife,  who  reached  Bogota  July  20.  Soon  after 
his  arrival  services  in  Spanish  were  begun.  This  called  out  bitter 
papal  opposition,  which  was  quelled  by  the  authorities,  and  for 
the  time  the  rights  of  toleration  were  vindicated.  But  the  pi'iests 
threatened  all  Catholics  who  should  attend  any  Protestant  ser- 
vices, Avith  excommunication  and  all  its  terrible  consequences. 
About  this  time  a  night-school,  a  Sunday-school  and  a  Bible- 
class  were  opened 

In  1860  Mr.  Pratt  returned  to  the  United  States  to  superin- 
tend the  printing  of  a  book  he  had  translated  into  Spanish — 
"Seymour's  Evenings  with  the  Romanists" — and  also  to  aid  in 
the  revision  of  the  New  Testament  in  Spanish. 

The  year  1860  was  an  eventful  one  in  our  little  mission. 
While  the  mission  work  was  favorably  progressing,  and  about 
the  time  Mr.  Pratt  went  to  New  York,  the  Rev.  W.  E.  McLaren 
and  his  wife  joined  the  mission  at  Bogota.  Soon  after  their 
arrival  Mr.  Sharpe  was  laid  aside  by  sickness,  and  then  called 
home  to  rest,  October  30,  1860.  The  mission  was  thus  left  with 
only  one  missionary,  and  he  but  a  few  weeks  on  the  field. 

About  this  time,  too,  civil  war  was  raging,  which  materially 
interfered  with  our  mission  work.  For  a  time  the  Romish  party 
held  the  capital ;  then  it  was  taken  by  the  Liberal  party,  the 
Jesuits  were  banished,  monastic  orders  restricted,  and  other 
means  taken  to  reduce  the  political  poAver  of  the  papal  party. 

In  1861  the  first  church  was  organized.  It  consisted  of  six 
persons.  It  was  organized  in  a  dark  day  for  the  mission.  Mr. 
Pratt  remained  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Sharpe  had  been  called 
up  higher.      The  work  had  been  hindered  by  the  war  and  by 


74  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

the  Pajiists,  until,  disfoiiratrcd,  in  Janiiarv,  l.S(!-'>,  ^Nfr.  ^fcLaron 
luid  liif!  will'  liad  R-tunu'd  1h»iik',  and  llu'ir  connection  with  our 
Board  ceased.  A  new  liand  was  now  <>u  the  liehn.  March  19, 
18()2,  Kev.T.  F.  Walhice  and  w  ife  liad  joined  the  mission,  and  tliey 
were  now  the  lone  hil)orers  and  guardians  of  the  little  flock. 
Under  the.><e  adverse  circumstances,  progress  was  necessarily 
slow  and  toilsome.  Four  ycai*s  Mr.  Wallace  stood  alone,  first 
learning  the  language,  then  attempting  the  work.  In  l^tJO  the 
Kev.  P.  II.  I'itkin  joined  the  mission  ;  he  was  alterwards  trans- 
ferred to  ^lexico,  and  Mr.  Wallace  was  once  more  the  only  laborer, 
except  two  ladies,  Mi's.  Wallace  and  Miss  Kate  McFarren, 
the  latter  in  charge  of  the  girls'  school. 

In  1<'^74  the  Kev.  AVillis  Weaver  and  wife  arrived  at  Bogota. 
Mr.  T.  F.  Wallace  continued  to  labor  in  this  mission  until  Mi-s. 
Wallace's  health  failing,  they  returned  home  in  1<S7."). 

In  1<S7()  the  chapel  was  repaired,  and  occu])ied  instea<l  of  a 
j)rivate  room.  During  this  year,  also,  a  young  native  of  marked 
talent,  and  an  enthusiastic  student,  began  regular  study  in  prep- 
aration for  missionary  work. 

In  1«77  Mrs.  AVeaver  had  charge  of  the  now  popular  day  and 
boarding-school  for  girls,  and  the  pupils  regularly  attended 
church  services  and  Sabbath-school. 

In  187<S  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weaver  and  Miss  Kate  McFarren  were 
the  only  laborers  in  a  field  where  much  good  seed  had  been  sown, 
and  which  Avas  white  ready  to  harvest.  To  have  but  three  mis- 
sionaries in  a  population  of  forty-five  thousand  Papists,  with  one 
church  and  one  school,  Avas  truly  disheartening.  But  these  faith- 
ful laborers  toiled  on  in  hoj)e  that  ere  long  they  should  realize 
the  promise,  "and  the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom  as  the 
rose  .  .  .  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  oj)ened,  and  the  ears  of 
the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped  ;  and  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary 
place  shall  be  glad  for  them."     (Isa.  xxxv.) 

Early  in  1880,  ]Mr.  and  ]\Irs:  AVeaver  returned  home,  and  Miss 
iNIcFar'ren  remained  alone  in  charge  of  the  mission.  It  was  but 
for  a  short  time.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell  and  wife  and  Miss 
Margaret  Bamsey,  having  been  api)ointe(l  to  this  field  in  the 
spring,  arrived  at  the  mission  in  the  autumn  of  1880. 

After  Mr.  Caldwell's  arrival,  the  interest  in  all  branches  of 
mission  work  steadily  increased.  Thirteen  adults  were  added  to 
the  church  during  the  first  year.  One  of  the  converts,  Mr.  AVil- 
son,  a  nu^n  in  high  position  in  the  Government,  became  a  most 
efficient  worker,  having  a  Bible  Class  averaging  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty  men. 

Kev.  T.  II.  Candor  arrived  in  June,  1882.  Signs  of  progress 
were   visible    everywhere, — wire   fences,   improved   farms,  more 


THE  MISSIONS  IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  75 

commodious  houses,  iron  bridi^es  and  telegraphs,  rolling-mills, 
steamboats  and  railroads, — while  the  mission,  found  itself  free 
from  debt  and  in  a  most  prosperous  condition,  $270  having 
been  expended  in  repairs,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  replaced 
in  the  mission  treasury  by  the  gifts  of  the  people. 

There  were  several  important  changes  in  1883  among  the 
laborei-s  in  this  field,  which  were,  fii-st,  the  departure  of  Miss 
McFarren  in  April,  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Candor  and  Miss  Ram- 
sey, December  7,  and  the  arrival  of  Miss  Maria  B.  Franks, 
December  11. 

A  small  Protestant  Hospital  has  been  established  by  the  mis- 
sion, for  the  protection  and  relief  of  its  own  poor.  It  is  sus- 
tained by  the  missionaries  and  the  people  who  feel  the  great  need 
of  such  an  institution,  owing  to  the  strong  influence  exercised  by 
the  Romish  priests,  who  at  times  persecute  their  patients  in  exces- 
sive zeal  for  their  church. 

The  unsettled  poHtical  situation  of  the  country  during  the  past 
year  has  been  a  great  drawback  to  the  mission  work.  A  revolu- 
tionary Avar  has  existed  for  more  than  six  months,  so  that  no  let- 
ters have  been  received  since  January,  1885.  Up  to  that  time 
the  cause  Avas  highly  prosperous.  All  services  had  been  conduct- 
ed in  Spanish  in  church  and  schools. 

This  mission  has  had  many  difficulties  and  disappointments  in 
its  brief  history.  The  frequent  change  of  its  laborers,  some  of 
them  leaving  before  they  had  even  learned  the  language  ;  the 
opposition  of  a  dissolute  priesthood ;  the  apathy  and  the  infidel 
tendencies  of  the  people,  owing  largely  to  the  character  of  the 
national  Church ;  and  the  unattractiveness  of  a  spiritual  religion 
requiring  watchfulness,  self-denial  and  self-abasement, — this  has 
made  the  Avork  in  Bogota  a  difficult  one.  In  no  Romish  country 
is  more  indifference  manifested.  The  people  love  Protestantism 
for  its  political  tendencies,  but  hate  its  claims  for  a  devoutly 
religious  life. 

This  mission  has  good  accommodations  for  li\dng  and  teaching, 
toAA-ards  the  cost  of  Avhich  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Soci- 
ety paid  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars.  A  church  edifice  has 
been  made  avilable  for  religious  services.  At  the  present  time 
the  church  contains  fifty-eight  members,  and  the  school  about 
fifty-se\'en  pupils  from  families  of  highest  rank.  All  other  insti- 
tutions of  learning  being  taught  by  infidels  or  Romanists,  the 
missionaries  beg  for  assistance  to  establish  a  boys'  school,  similar 
to  that  now  under  the  care  of  Mi-s.  CaldAvell  and  Miss  Franks. 
In  A^CAV  of  the  critical  state  of  spiritual  life  in  this  country,  it  is 
well  for  us  to  realize  that  it  is  a  seed-time  Avhich  cannot  be  ne- 
glected.    If  the  Avheat  be  not  soaa^u,  the  tares  Avill  be  scattered 


7H  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

hrojulcnst.  On  the  ruins  of  Roman  Catholicism,  Atheism  will 
work  out  its  dire  and  extreme  result.s  just  so  far  aaour  ineflicieuey 
and  unfaithfulness  allow  the  opix)rtunity. 

CHILI. 

Chili  is  a  republic  of  Spanish  origin,  oeeupying  the  w&<?tern 
coast  of  South  America  from  Bolivia  to  Patagonia.  It  extends 
from  '24°  to  43°  20'  south  latitude,  and  from  70°  to  74°  west 
longitude,  being  1240  miles  long,  and  on  an  average  120  miles 
wide,  with  an  area  of  about  132,000  square  miles,  and  a  popula- 
tion of  2,068,000.  The  capital  is  Santiago,  founded  by  Spaniards 
in  l')41. 

Cliili  is  a  historical  land.  It  is  a  part  of  the  dominions  of  the 
Inca  of  Peru,  was  conquered  by  Pizarro  in  1531,  and  remained  a 
Sj)anish  dependency  almost  three  hundred  years.  In  1810,  Chili 
revolted  against  the  king  of  Spain,  and  became  a  republic  under 
the  ])residency  of  Marquis  de  la  Platte,  a  native  Chilian.  Janu- 
ary 1,  1818,  her  independence  w-as  proclaimed,  and  was  secured 
by  a  great  victory  over  the  Spanish  on  iMay  5  of  that  year.  The 
first  state  constitution  was  adopted  in  1824 

In  its  government,  though  republican,  Chili  is  the  least  dem- 
ocratic of  the  South  American  states.  The  legislature  consists  of 
two  branches — the  house  of  deputies,  chosen  for  three  years,  and 
the  senators,  for  nine.  The  Roman  Catholic  is  the  prevailing 
religion,  but  other  denominations  are  protected  by  law.  Chili  is 
an  isolated  country.  Though  one  extended  sea-coast,  it  is  remote 
from  the  main  thoroughfares  of  commerce.  On  the  south  it  is 
bounded  by  the  desolations  of  Patagonia,  on  the  north  by  the 
desert  of  Atacama,  and  on  the  east  l)v  impassable  mountains, 
varying  from  12,000  to  20,000  feet  high. 

Chili  lies  wholly  between  the  great  water-shed  of  the  Andes 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  is  divided  into  fifteen  provinces.  A 
large  portion  of  the  po])ulation  is  of  Spanish  descent,  Indians,  or 
a  mixture  of  the  two.  The  climate  is  in  general  healthful.  Rain 
falls  only  in  June  and  September,  which  is  the  mid-winter  of  this 
region.  The  southern  ])art  is  covered  with  immense  forests,  the 
trees  attaining  a  gigantic  size.  The  productions  are  wheat,  maize, 
barley,  potatoes,  hemp,  etc.  Apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums, 
oranges  and  lemons  are  abundant.  All  varieties  of  productions 
are  found  in  a  climate  so  varied,  changing  from  the  hot  sea-coast 
to  the  snow-capped  mountain,  four  miles  above  the  sea-level.  It 
has  no  large  lakes,  nor  long  rivers.  The  streams  are  unnavigable 
torrents,  the  longest  being  less  than  two  hundred  miles  in 
length. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  77 

In  a  war  with  Peru,  closed  in  1880,  the  Chilians  showed  them- 
selves to  be  a  brave  and  warlike  people  ;  and  in  the  complete  sub- 
jugation of  Peru  they  proved  themselves  to  be  vigorous  conquerors. 
Perhaps  no  other  nation  in  modern  warfare  has  suffered  such  ab- 
solute humiliation  as  Peru  under  the  heel  of  Chili.  She  has  been 
obliged  to  accept  terms  of  peace  which  have  crushed  out  her  inde- 
pendent national  existence,  consolidating  her  with  Bolivia,  and 
binding  her  to  forty  years  without  army  or  navy,  and  fifty  years 
without  a  fortified  post. 

Chili  is  the  foremost  of  the  South  American  states  in  intelli- 
gence, energy,  national  power  and  progress.  The  people  favor 
Protestantism,  and  elected  Senor  Pinto  president  over  the  candi- 
date of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  openly  advocates  Protestant 
principles  and  the  general  difiiision  of  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
The  people  are  tired  of  papal  domination,  and  the  government 
casts  its  influence  and  moral  support  on  the  side  of  Protestantism. 
At  the  election  of  deputies  and  senators  in  1876,  one  hundred 
liberals  were  elected  to  eight  of  the  church  party.  This  is  solid 
ground  for  encouragement  in  Protestant  mission  work.  The  mis- 
sion in  Chili  was  established  by  the  "  American  and  Foreign 
Christian  Union,"  and  was  transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  July  14,  1873.  It  occupies  the  whole  repub- 
lic, though  operating  from  three  centers,  viz.,  Santiago,  Valpa- 
raiso and  Concepcion. 

SANTIAGO, 

the  capital  of  Chili,  is  situated  on  a  plain  2000  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  is  a  fine  city  as  regards  building's  and  health.  It  is  120 
miles  inland  from  Valparaiso,  and  is  connected  with  it  by  a  rail- 
road. It  w^as  first  occupied  by  Rev.  N.  P.  Gilbert  in  1861,  who, 
in  the  midst  of  man}^  discouragements  from  foreigners  and  natives, 
persevered  until  he  was  able  to  organize  a  church  and  erect  a 
building  in  a  central  position,  and  well  adapted  to  the  congrega- 
tion. When  Mr.  Gilbert  retired  from  the  field,  in  1871,  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Ibanez-Guzman,  a  native  of  the  country,  who 
continued  to  labor  here  till  his  death,  in  1876.  In  September 
of  that  year,  Rev.  S.  J.  Christen  and  his  wife  began  their 
extended  work  there,  which  they  still  continue  most  faithfully, 
in  a  great  city  of  125,000  inhabitants.  The  Rev.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Lester  joined  them  in  1882,  infusing  the  mission 
Avith  fresh  courage  and  vigor.  Mrs.  Lester  Avas  a  woman  of 
rare  gifts,  whose  death  in  1884  greatly  saddened,  not  only  the 
little  mission  circle,  but  the  whole  community,  both  rich  and 
poor.  The  Rev.  Duncan  Cameron  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Union  church  in  1884. 
4 


78  IirSTOUICAL   SKETCH    OF 

The  mist-ion  in  Chili  has  had  a  most  generous  and  efficient 
friend  in  Alexander  Baltbur,  Esq.,  of  Liverj)ool,  who  has 
aided  the  work  in  many  ways.  In  order  to  prejiare  a  native 
ministry  a  tiaining  school  and  theological  seminary  was  impera- 
tively needed,  and  for  this  i)urpose  heoHered  to  pay  for  a  term  of 
five  yeai-s  the  expenses  of  a  suitable  man  to  take  charge  of  such 
an  institution.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Allis  was  secured,  arriving  at  his 
l)ost  September,  1884.  For  the  present,  at  least,  this  seminary 
will  be  located  at  Santiago,  where  the  work  can  be  carried  on, 
in  connection  with  the  "  Institute  Internacional,"  which  has  been 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Christen  for  six  yeai-s  and  warmly  com- 
mended by  all.  An  urgent  plea  is  made  for  means  to  furnish  a 
few  rooms  for  the  six  .students  already  enrolled. 

The  Escuela  Popular,  a  day  school  for  children  of  both  sexes 
able  to  })ay  small  fees,  was  established  last  year,  and  notwith- 
standing the  opposition  of  the  clergy,  has  done  well,  many  of  the 
pupils  attending  the  Sabbath-School  also. 

VALPARAISO, 

the  chief  centre  of  evangelism  for  Chili,  is  the  principal  sea- port, 
being  situated  on  a  large  and  sheltered  bay  Avith  a  background 
of  high  and  barren  mountains.  The  city  has  had  a  rapid 
growth.  In  1854  it  contained  only  52,000  inhabitants.  Now  it 
has  110,000, — 75,000  natives,  or  68  per  cent,  of  the  population,  14 
per  cent,  of  Germans,  and  18  per  cent,  of  English,  French, 
Italians,  and  others. 

The  city  forms  the  principal  outlet  of  a  vast  territory  of  rich 
and  productive  land.  Gold,  copper,  lead,  hides,  etc.,  are  its  ex- 
ports, and  it  has  direct  communication  w^ith  Europe  by  a  line  of 
German  and  also  of  English  steamers. 

In  1850  the  city  was  occupied  by  Rev.  D.  Trumbull,  D.D., 
sent  thither  by  the  Seaman's  Friend  Society  and  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union.  Dr.  Trumbull  labored  mostly  for 
the  English-speaking  people  of  the  city,  but  did  much  for  the 
Chilians  through  the  press.  In  1867  Kev.  A-  M.  Merwin  was 
sent  to  take  charge  of  the  Spanish  work  in  the  city.  He  began 
to  preach  in  1868,  and  a  church  was  organized  in  1869,  which 
still  continues  to  prosper,  notwithstanding  his  temporary  absence 
at  times,  on  account  of  ill  health.  A  growing  confidence  in  our 
missionaries  is  manifested,  Dr.  Trumbull  having  been  frequently 
considted  in  regard  to  matters  of  public  interest  by  those  in  high 
authority. 

Kev.  W.  E.  Dodge  was  sent  out  by  the  Board  during  the  year 
1882,  but  was  subsecjuently  called  to  become  associate-pastor  of 


THE   MISSIONS  IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  79 

the  Union  ('hurch,  Dr.  Trumbull  and  himself  counting  them- 
selves as  members  of  our  mission  force.  During  1883  they  were 
the  means  of  establishing  a  flourishing  Y.  M.  C.  A.  The  Day- 
school,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Wm.  Trumbull  and  Miss  Strout, 
is  sup])orted  by  the  people  of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  scholars, 
many  of  whom  become  members  of  the  church  in  due  time.  In 
connection  with  this  is  a  boarding  department,  called  "  The 
Sheltering  Arms,"  under  the  care  of  a  good  matron ;  a  number 
of  the  children  are  supported  by  special  donations,  making  it 
quite  independent  of  the  Board. 

The  Valparaiso  Bible  Society  is  one  of  the  most  efficient 
agencies  on  the  field.  Mr.  Krouse,  its  colporteur,  reports  sales 
for  the  year  1884,  of  nearly  4,000  Bibles,  New  Testaments,  and 
portions  of  the  same. 

SAN   FELIPE 

is  situated  in  an  elevated  valley  sixty  miles  northeast  of  Valpa- 
raiso. It  is  regularly  built  in  the  vicinity  of  extensive  copper 
mines,  with  a  mixed  population  of  1 2,600.  The  Rev.  Robert 
McLean  and  wife  occupied  this  field  in  1879,  but  were  soon  re- 
moved to  Concepcion,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  republic,  where 
his  brother.  Rev.  Eneas  McLean,  and  wife  were  laboring  hope- 
fully. 

TALCA 

is  the  capital  of  the  province  of  the  same  name.  It  was  founded 
in  1742,  and  is  a  well-built  and  growing  town  of  17,000  inhabit- 
ants engaged  in  manufacturing,  and  has  a  good  trade.  It  is  an 
educational  centre,  therefore  an  important  strategic  point  for  our 
missions.  It  was  occupied  by  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Curtiss  and  his 
wife,  since  removed  to  Concepcion.  Native  helpers  now  carry 
on  the  work. 

CONCEPCION 

is  a  city  lying  south  of  Talca,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Biobio, 
which  forms  one  of  the  best  harbors  in  Chili.  The  city  contains 
about  15,000  inhabitants.  Mr.  McLean  called  it  the  Chicago  of 
Chili.  From  this  port  much  grain  is  shipped  to  Europe,  which 
has  been  brought  down  by  rail  from  the  extended  and  fertile 
plains  of  the  interior. 

The  history  of  this  church  for  the  four  years  the  two  brothers 
McLean  were  laboring  together,  was  of  marked  success,  only  to 
be  followed  by  the  illness  and  final  removal  of  both  these  mis- 
sionaries. Rev.  S.  W.  Curtiss  and  wife,  who  had  been  called 
from  Talca,  were  thus  left  with  the  entire  care  of  the  work  until 


80  ULSTOIUCAL   SKETCH    OF 

18S4,  wlu'u  tliev  were  again  transferred,  to  take  charge  of  the 
press  at  X'alparaiso,  and  to  edit  the  united  religious  jjaper  under 
the  name  "  VA  Kepuhlicano." 

I\ev.  J.  F.  Ciarvin  and  wife  are  now  the  missionaries  at  this 
point. 

CALLAO,   PERU. 

An  important  step  has  been  taken  in  tlie  commencement  of 
work  at  C'aHao,  Peru.  Rev.  J.  IM.  Thompson,  formerly  of  Pitts- 
burgh, has  been  placed  in  charge  of  a  union  English-speaking 
church,  in  response  to  an  appeal  from  the  Christian  residents  in 
that  city,  accompanied  by  liberal  subscriptions  towards  his  sup- 
port. Although  Callao  is  so  distant  from  Valparaiso,  it  js  likely 
that  this  enterprise  will  be  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Chili 
Presbytery. 

The  Chilian  missions  are  comparatively  young,  and  mudi  of 
the  labor  has  been  preparatory,  but  there  is  great  j)romise  for 
the  future.  Already  many  have  given  up  the  sterile  forms  of 
the  papal  church,  and  have  accepted  Christ  amid  keen  rejjroach, 
if  not  cruel  persecution. 

Chili  is  the  most  advanced  of  the  South  American  govern- 
ments. The  rei)ort  for  1884  stated,  that  "within  twelve 
months  the  following  events  took  place  in  (|uick  succession  :  the 
Pajjal  Nuncio's  expulsion  ;  an  attempt  of  the  clergy  to  incite  a 
revolution  ;  the  triumph  of  the  liberal  party  in  both  houses  of 
Congreas  ;  important  politico-religious  forms  in  the  shape  of  laws 
for  civil  cemeteries  and  civil  marriages  ;  the  emphatic  declaration 
of  the  government  in  favor  of  the  final  and  complete  separation 
of  Church  and  State." 

BRAZIL. 

This  is  the  only  monarchy  on  the  Amejican  continent.  It  was 
accidentally  discovered  by  Vinccnte  Yanes  Pincon,  a  companion 
of  Colum])us,  May  3,  1500,  and  was  first  colonized  by  the  Portu- 
guese, in  1531.  It  occupies  nearly  one-half  of  South  America, 
and  contains  more  than  one-half  of  its  arable  land.  Lying  be- 
tween 4°  north  and  33°  south  latitude,  and  between  35°  and  70° 
west  longitude,  nearly  the  whole  territory  is  within  the  torrid 
zone.  In  round  numbei-s  it  is  2B00  miles  long  and  2500  broad. 
Its  area  is  3,200,000  s<iuare  miles. 

From  1531  to  1822  Brazil  was  a  province  of  Portugal,  and  was 
governed  by  a  ruler  from  the  mother  country.  "  When  Portugal 
wjis  invaded  by  the  French  in  1807,  the  sovereign  of  that  king- 
dom, John  VI.,  sailed  for  Brazil,  accompanied  by  his  family  and 
court.     Soon  after  his  arrival  he  placed  the  administration  on  a 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  81 

better  footintr,  threw  open  the  ports  to  all  nations,  and  improved 
the  condition  of  the  country  generally.  On  the  fall  of  Bonaparte, 
the  king  raised  Brazil  to  the  rank  of  a  kingdom,  and  assumed 
the  title  of  King  of  Portugal,  Algarve  and  Brazil.  A  revolution 
in  1820  ltd  the  king  to  return  to  Portugal,  and  he  left  Pedro,  his 
oldest  son,  as  regent.  In  1822  Dom  Pedro,  forced  by  a  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  Brazilians  for  comjilete  independence,  and  not 
wishing  the  control  of  Brazil  to  go  outside  of  his  family,  declared 
Brazil  a  free  and  independent  State,  and  assumed  the  title  of 
emperor,  and  was  recognized  by  the  king  of  Portugal  in  1825.  A 
series  of  disturbances  and  general  dissatisfaction  throughout  the 
empire  ended  in  the  abdication  of  Dom  Pedro,  who  left  Brazil 
April  7,  1831,  leaving  a  son  who  was  under  age  as  his  successor. 
The  rights  of  the  latter  were  recognized  and  protected,  and  a 
regency  of  three  persons  appointed  by  the  chamber  of  deputies  to 
conduct  the  government  during  his  minority.  In  1840  the  young 
emperor  was  declared  of  age,  being  then  in  his  fifteenth  vear,  and 
was  crowned  July  18,  1841." 

In  1866  Dom  Pedro  emancipated  the  slaves  of  his  government. 
In  1876  he  visited  the  United  States  of  America,  attending  the 
great  Exposition  in  Philadelphia ;  he  saw  our  schools  and  our 
manufactories,  studied  our  institutions  and  civilization  generally, 
and  then  visited  Europe.  He  is  still  on  the  throne,  a  progres- 
sive and  humane  ruler,  a  friend  of  every  effort  to  benefit  his 
people. 

Brazil  is  divided  into  tw^enty  states  or  provinces,  answering  in 
general  to  the  states  of  our  Union.  The  government  is  a  hered- 
itary constitutional  monarchy,  and,  as  we  have  said,  the  only 
monarchy  on  the  American  continent.  The  law-making  power  is 
vested  in  a  general  assembly,  answering  to  our  congress,  Avhich 
consists  of  two  chambers — the  senate  and  chamber  of  dejiuties — 
which  are  in  session  four  months  annually.  Senators  are  chosen 
for  life,  but  may  be  impeached  for  wrong-doing  ;  and  the  deputies 
are  elected  for  four  years.  The  emperor's  cabinet  is  appointed, 
and  holds  its  office  by  the  will  of  the  crown.  In  the  judicial 
department,  justices  of  the  peace  are  elected  by  their  respective 
communities ;  and  in  courts  of  justice,  whether  civil  or  criminal, 
a  judge  presides,  and  a  jury,  as  in  our  own  courts,  renders  the 
verdict. 

Brazil  was  discovered,  settled,  and  for  three  hundred  years  gov- 
erned by  the  Portuguese.  They  have  been  the  power  in  Church 
and  State,  giving  language,  manners,  morals,  and  customs  to  every 
department  of  life.  The  inhabitants  embrace  whites,  Indians  and 
negroes.  The  whites  consist  largely  of  the  descendants  of  the 
Portuguese ;  and,  like  the  i:)eople  of  the  United  States  of  America, 


02  HISTORICAL  .SKETCH    OF 

have  pii.<;litHl  the  Indians  hack  from  tlie  coast  into  the  north  and 
west,  while  tlie  negroes  are  found  more  in  the  south  ;  hut  the 
three  races  are  extensively  mixed  hy  intermarriage. 

The  Portuguese  language  closely  resemhles  the  Spanish.  Mr. 
Blackford,  of  the  lirazil  mission,  says :  "It  is  a  heautifid  lan- 
guage, and  has  heen  apj)ropriately  styled  the  eldest  daughter  of 
tlie  Latin.  It  is  coin})act,  expressive,  tlexihle  and  well  adapted 
for  oratory  and  literature."  The  education  of  IJrazil,  notwith- 
standing tlie  em])eror's  eidightened  views  and  jwlicy,  is  still  very 
defective.  In  1874  only  140,001)  children  were  in  school,  or 
onlv  about  25  per  cent,  were  being  educated.  This  is  the  uni- 
versal policy  of  th.e  papal  power,  and  in  no  j)apal  country  is  it 
materially  different. 

Brazil  is  naturally  divided  into  three  distinct  regions  :  the  low, 
hot,  and  unhealthy  Atlantic  coast;  a  magnificent  table-land  of 
great  fertility,  watered  by  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries;  and 
the  mountain  region  of  the  west.  Politically,  it  is  divided  into 
twenty  provinces,  only  six  of  which  have  been  occupied  by  our 
missionaries.  It  is  a  well-watered  country,  of  numerous  lakes 
and  rivers,  diversified  by  uniiiue  forests  of  tree-trunk,  rope-like 
air-root.s,  and  twisted  vines.  It  abounds  also  in  choice  minerals, 
j)recious  metals,  and  fossil  remains.  Coal,  iron,  lead,  silver,  gold 
and  precious  stones  are  abundant ;  indeed,  the  field  for  diamonds 
is  the  richest  in  the  world.  One  diamond  ha.s  been  found  there 
worth  $2.10,000.  But  the  vast  wealth  of  the  .state  is  found  not 
in  her  rich  stores  of  precious  minerals  and  metals,  l)ut  in  her 
fruitful  soil  and  exports  of  tropical  productions.  Her  traffic 
in  sugar  and  coffee,  under  heavy  and  almost  ruinous  duties, 
has  amounted  to  more  in  a  single  year  than  all  the  diamonds 
gathered  within  this  century. 

Climate. — Being  within  the  tro])ics  the  tendency  is  to  extreme 
heat,  accompanied  in  some  ]«irts  by  great  humidity  ;  but  on  the 
table-land  the  heat  is  modified  by  pure  and  refreshing  breezes, 
and  back  on  the  mountain  slopes  one  may  dwell  in  ))erj)etual 
si)ring.  The  table-lands  and  hill-sides,  with  unrivalled  brooks 
and  navigable  streams  for  internal  comnuinication  and  commerce, 
naturally  fit  it  for  agricultural  pur|)Oses  ;  and  the  climate  favors 
not  only  a  va.st  variety  of  valuable  products,  but  vigorous  health. 
Yet  the  export  duties  are  so  great  as  to  destroy  enterprise  in  that 
direction,  so  that  less  than  one-hundredth  part  of  the  soil  is  under 
cultivation.  Nature  has  been  bounteous,  but  a  mistaken  state 
policy  and  ignorance  have  nearly  rendered  her  lavish  provision 
useless. 

The  ProdnetioTis. — Brazil  is  probably  not  surpassed  in  fertility, 
in  climate,  and  in   variety  of  useful  natural  products — coffee, 


THE  MISSIONS   IN  SOUTH   AMERICA.  Oo 

sugar,  cotton,  cocoa,  rice,  maize,  manioc,  beans,  bananas,  yams, 
ginger,  lemons,  oranges,  figs,  cocoanuts,  etc.  Sugar,  cofiee  and 
cotton  are  staple  commodities.  Perhaps  no  country  yields  food- 
products  in  richer  abundance.  Yams  are  wonderfully  product- 
ive. Manioc,  from  which  tapioca  is  made,  is  said  to  yield  six 
times  as  much  nutriment  to  the  acre  as  wheat.  Many  articles  of 
food  are  spontaneous.  Pasturage  is  abundant,  with  herds  of 
wild  cattle  on  the  plains,  game  in  the  woods,  and  fi.sh  in  the 
waters.  Forests  of  rare  growth  and  variety  abound.  Wood  of 
great  excellence  and  beauty  for  all  kinds  of  cabinet  work,  timber 
and  lumber  for  all  building  purposes,  mourn  over  the  high 
export  duties  which  silence  the  echoes  of  the  woodman's  axe. 

For  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  Catholic  religion  has 
been  yielding  its  legitimate  fruit,  until  it  has  demoralized  itself 
and  all  the  people,  who  have  no  love  for  priests  or  their 
religion.  The  papal  power  is  broken,  and  the  highest  church  offi- 
cials have  become  subject  to  the  civil  law.  In  1874  the  bishops 
of  Para  and  Pernambuco,  noted  for  learning,  zeal,  and  influence, 
were  arrested  by  order  of  the  imperial  government,  tried  by  the 
supreme  court,  and  condemned  to  four  years'  imprisonment. 
After  serving  under  the  sentence  one  year,  they  were  released  by 
a  decree  of  general  amnesty. 

The  first  effort  to  evangelize  Brazil  was  made  by  the  Hugue- 
nots in  1555,  thirty-four  years  after  the  Portuguese  colonized  the 
country.  Admiral  Coligny  of  France,  who  bravely  supported 
the  Protestant  cause  and  was  basely  assassinated  on  St.  Barthol- 
omew's day,  1572,  planned  a  colony  of  Protestants  on  the  coast 
of  Brazil  as  a  refuge  for  the  persecuted  Huguenots.  They  sailed 
from  Havre  de  Grace,  in  1555,  to  what  is  now  the  harbor  of  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  and  settled  on  the  island  of  Villegagnon.  Calvin 
and  his  friends  at  Geneva  sent  them  religious  teachers,  but  the 
colony  was  short-lived,  persecution  did  its  work,  and  some  re- 
turned, some  were  put  to  death  and  others  fled  to  the  Indians. 
"  Amongst  the  latter  was  one  named  John  Boles,  who  is  noted, 
even  in  the  annals  of  the  Jesuits,  as  a  man  of  considerable  learn- 
ing, being  well  versed  in  both  Greek  and  Hebrew.  Escaping 
from  Villegagnon,  John  Boles  went  to  St.  Vincente,  near  the 
present  site  of  Santos,  the  chief  seaport  of  the  province  of  San 
Paulo,  the  earliest  Portuguese  settlement  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  where  the  Jesuits  had  a  colony  of  Indians  catechised 
according  to  their  mode.  According  to  the  Jesuit  chroniclers 
themselves,  the  Huguenot  minister  preached  with  such  boldness, 
eloquence,  erudition,  that  he  was  likely  to  pervert,  as  they  term 
it,  great  numbers  of  their  adepts.  Unable  to  withstand  him  by 
arguments,  they  resorted  to  Rome's  ever-favorite  reasoning,  and 


84  niSTORIf'AL   SKKTCII    OF 

caused  him  to  be  arrested  with  several  of  his  coinptmions.  John 
Boles  was  taken  to  I^ahia,  about  a  thousand  miles  distant,  where 
he  lay  in  prison  eijjjht  years.  When,  in  15()7,  the  Portuguese 
iinally  succeeded  in  exj»ellin<,f  the  French  from  that  part  of  their 
dominions,  the  governor,  ^leni  de  8a,  sent  for  the  Huguenot 
])ris(iner,  and  had  him  put  t(»  death  on  the  present  site  of  the  city 
of  llio  de  Janeiro,  in  order,  it  was  said,  to  terrify  his  countrymen 
if  any  of  them  should  he  lurking  in  those  parts.  The  Jesuits 
boast  that  Anchieta,  their  great  apostle  in  Brazil,  succeeded  in 
winning  the  heretic  to  the  })apal  faith  on  the  eve  of  his  execution, 
and  then  helped  the  hangman  dispatch  him  as  ([uick  as  possible, 
so  as  to  hurry  him  off  to  glory  before  he  could  have  time  to  re- 
cant."— Sketch  of  Brazil  Mission,  by  Rev.  A.  Jj.  lilackford. 

About  1640  the  Dutch  settled  along  the  northern  coast,  prin- 
cipally in  Guiana,  and  did  some  mission  work  among  the  Indians  ; 
but  the  work  was  small  and  of  no  lasting  benefit.  About  lHo5, 
Dr.  Kalley,  a  j)ious  Scotch  physician,  went  to  Kio  de  Janeiro  and 
l>egan  an  independent  work  of  circulating  the  Bible  and  tracts, 
and  preaching.  The  result  has  been  two  independent  Protestant 
churches,  one  in  Kio  and  the  other  in  Pernanibuco.  In  183(i  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spaulding 
to  Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  Rev.  D.  P.  Kidder  joined  him  in  1888. 
In  1840  Mrs.  Kidder  died,  and  Dr.  Kidder  returned  home.  Fi- 
nancial difficulties  caused  the  abandonment  of  the  mission  in 
1^42.  But  six  yeai-s  of  faithful  missionary  labor  give  the  place 
of  honor,  in  leading  the  American  missions  in  South  America,  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

RIO   DE   JANEIRO. 

In  1859,  three  years  afler  Bogota,  in  the  United  States  of  Co- 
lombia, was  oc'cupied  by  Rev.  Horace  B.  Pratt,  the  Board  com- 
missioned the  Rev.  Ashbel  Green  Simonton,  of  Pennsylvania,  as 
their  missionary  to  Brazil.  He  sailed  from  New  York  in  June, 
and  landed  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  August  12,  18r)9.  No  mission  at 
that  time  occupied  Brazil  exce])t  the  independent  work  of  Dr. 
Kalley.  Mr.  Simonton,  wliile  ac(|uiring  the  Portuguese  language, 
engaged  in  teaching  ]*]nglish  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  could  s{)eak  with 
some  facility,  he  opened  a  place  for  preaching.  It  Avas  a  small 
room  in  the  third  story  of  a  house  in  a  central  situation.  His 
first  audience  consisted  of  two  men  to  whom  he  had  taught  Eng- 
lish. Three  attended  the  second  service ;  then  some  half-dozen 
were  present.  So,  gradually,  the  number  increased  until  full 
congregations  attended  his  ministrations. 

In  July,  18G0,  the  Rev.  A.  L.  Blackford  and  wife  joined  the 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  85 

mission,  Mrs.  B.  being  a  sister  of  Mr.  Sinionton.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Blackford  labored  in  the  mission  fifteen  years,  and  then  on 
account  of  her  failing  health  returned  to  this  country,  but  after- 
-wards  rejoined  the  mission.  In  1861  Rev.  F.  J.  C.  Schneider  was 
added  to  the  mission.  Mrs.  S.  joined  the  mission  in  1864.  In 
1862  Mr.  Simonton  organized  at  Rio  the  first  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Brazil.  At  the  first  communion  season  two  were  added 
on  profession  of  their  faith,  and  thenceforwai'd  the  church  was 
greatly  blessed,  so  that  over  two  hundred  had  been  added  to  it  in 
1875,  an  average  of  over  fifteen  membere  annually,  nearly  all  of 
them  being  converts  from  Romanism. 

Rev.  George  A.  Landes  and  wife,  who  occupied  this  field  in 
1881,  were  transferred  to  other  points  where  they  were  most 
needed,  the  work  being  carried  on,  in  1882,  by  Rev.  J.  F. 
Houston  and  Rev.  A.  B.  Trajano,  who  is  a  native  preacher. 
These  missionaries  have  the  care  of  several  out  lying  stations 
in  the  province,  the  church  in  the  city  being  the  centre  and  the 
largest  of  all. 

Rev.  John  M.  Kyle  and  wife  joined  them  in  December,  1883; 
they  made  such  progress  in  the  language  as  soon  to  take  charge 
of  the  work  across  the  Bay  from  Rio,  a  most  difficult  field,  owing 
to  the  fanaticism  of  the  people  and  active  opposition  of  the 
priests. 

SAO  PAULO. 

In  1863,  by  direction  of  the  Board,  Sao  Paulo,  a  city  of  25,000 
inhabitants,  was  occupied  as  a  mission  station.  It  is  the  capital 
of  the  province  of  Sao  Paulo,  and  as  such  is  an  important 
strategic  point  in  that  region ;  second,  perhaps,  only  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  The  training-school  for  ministers  and  teachers  is 
located  here.  In  February,  1865,  a  church  was  organized,  when 
several  converts  were  received  on  profession  of  their  faith. 

Mr.  Blackford  says,  "  Though  the  progress  of  the  work  in  Sao 
Paulo  has  been  less  rapid,  and  for  a  time  less  steady,  than  in 
some  other  places,  it  has  become  firmly  rooted  and  is  a  great 
power  for  good.  A  noticeable  fact  in  its  history  is  the  great 
number  of  its  members  who  have  removed  to  other  places,  often 
carrying  the  blessing  with  them."  Near  the  close  of  1865  the 
Presbytery  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  was  organized,  consisting  of  Revs. 
A.  G.  Simonton,  A.  L.  Blackford,  F.  J.  C.  Schneider,  and 
Lurhor  Conceicao,  a  converted  Romish  priest  just  then  ordained. 
Rev.  G.  W.  Chamberlain  joined  the  mission  in  1865,  and  Mrs. 
C.  in  1868.  Rev.  E.  N.  Pires  also  joined  in  1866,  but  retired  in 
1869.  Rev.  H.  W.  McKee  and  wife  spent  three  years  in  the 
mission,  from  1867  to  1870.    Rev.  J.  F.  Da  Gama  and  wife  were 

4* 


86  HISTORICAL  SKi-rrcii  OF 

added  to  tlie  mission  force  in  1H70.  A  prcaeliin<]j  hall  and  ac- 
conunodation  for  the  training-schools  was  erected  by  funds,  of 
which  §10,000  were  obtained  by  Kev.  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  the 
Ihiited  States  of  America,  and  §5000  at  Sao  Paulo.  The  ground 
and  materials  for  building  were  purchased  in  1865. 

Sao  Paulo  has  been  made  the  centre  of  extensive  operations  in 
educational  and  evangelical  work,  tract  and  ]5ible  distribution, 
with  visiting  and  preaching  from  house  to  house. 

In  18(57  our  missions  in  Brazil  sustained  a  heavy  loss  in  the 
death  of  the  Rev.  Ashbel  Green  Simonton.  As  the  pioneer  of 
onr  work  there,  we  may  not  pass  the  memory  of  one  so  young,  so 
manly,  so  cultivated,  so  discreet,  so  self-denying,  so  godly.  Mr. 
Simonton  was  a  young  man  of  fine  physique,  gentle  manners, 
scholarly  attainment's,  and  of  unusual  Christian  character.  In  a 
few  short  years,  with  remarkable  faith  and  wisdom,  he  laid 
foundations  for  future  work,  which  still  endure.  He  was  called 
to  his  reward  December  9,  1867. 

Tlic  boarding-school  for  girls  has  l)een  largely  under  the  care 
of  :Miss  Ella  Kuhl  and  Miss  Mary  P.  Dascomb  since  1882,  Miss 
P.  A.  Thomas  and  Miss  Sophia  A.  Dale  joining  them  in  188.S. 
The  latter  became  the  wife  of  Rev.  Mr.  Houston,  of  Rio  Janeiro, 
in  1884.  The  influence  of  such  schools  cannot  be  estimated, 
extending  as  it  does  into  so  many  homes  throughout  the  prov- 
inces, carrying  the  life-giving  words  of  the  Scriptures,  which  is 
as  a  new  book  to  all,  and  full  of  the  deepest  interest. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Howell,  who  had  (charge  of  the  training-school,  was 
obliged  to  leave  his  work  for  a  time  on  account  of  ill  health, 
spending  some  time  in  the  United  States  for  rest  in  1888. 

The  year  1884  was  marked  by  the  dedication  of  a  fine  house 
of  worship,  costing  $18,000,  of  which  $8000  was  subscribed  by 
the  church  people,  who  have  been  incorporated  into  a  st)ciety  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  church  property,  a  governmental  recogni- 
tion which  indicates  greatly  increased  liberality  and  conciHation. 

Rev.  Robert  Lenington  labored  most  ettcctively  part  of  tlie 
last  year  among  the  churches,  which  include  three  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  members,  of  which  Rev.  Ceorge  W.  Chamber- 
lain is  still  the  active,  faithful  pastor. 

A  theological  class  is  under  the  instruction  of  these  brethren, 
who  also  edit  the  Imprensa  Evangelica,  a  monthly  journal,  begun 
in  1864  by  Mr.  Simonton,  which  is  silently  exerting  a  great  in- 
fluence, being  widely  circulated  through  the  provinces. 

BROTAS. 

In  1868  Rev.  R.  Lenington  occupied  Brotas,  a  point  one 
hundred  and  seventy  miles  northwest  of  Sao  Paulo,  where  mis- 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  87 

sionary  laboi'S  had  been  largely  blessed,  and  where  a  church 
had  already  been  organized  and  grown  from  eleven  to  over 
seventy  members  witliout  a  regular  pastor.  The  work  had  been 
carried  on  by  the  converts  in  their  respective  neighborhoods, 
with  only  two  or  three  short  visits  yearly  from  the  missionaries 
of  Sao  Paulo.  Not  only  churches,  but  schools  were  organized. 
It  Avas  tlie  work  of  faithful  men  with  the  Bible  in  their  hands, 
their  heads  and  their  hearts,  having  been  successively  under  the 
charge  of  Messrs.  Lenington,  Da  Gama  and  Trajano. 

Now,  in  1885  this  field  comprises  ten  places  where  preaching 
will  be  maintained,  and  where  more  than  one  hundred  church 
members  are  found,  and  four  hundred  baptized  children.  Kev. 
J.  B.  Howell,  recently  returned  from  the  United  States,  will 
superintend  tlie  work,  beginning  at  once  a  more  thorough  in- 
struction of  Bible  readers  and  native  helpers,  who  will  supply 
the  spiritual  needs  of  the  people,  scattered  over  a  tract  of  coun- 
try, one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  by  seventy-five  in  extent. 
Many  of  these,  it  is  hoped,  will  eventually  become  teachers  in 
the  parochial  schools  which  are  so  much  needed  everywhere. 

San  Carlos  do  Pinhal,  which  formerly  was  under  the 
supervision  of  Rev.  Mr.  Da  Gama,  has  been  transferred  to  that 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Howell,  who  will  fix  his  residence  there,  while  organ- 
izing his  labors  in  the  wide  Brotas  field.  The  nomadic  habits  of 
the  people  account  for  the  discouraging  decrease  of  this  church 
membership  from  sixty-two  to  twenty-five,  which  has  the  one 
comforting  aspect,  that  these  absent  ones  may  be  enlighten- 
ing other  districts,  as  they  rove  from  place  to  place. 

Barda  da  Matta,  Cai.das,  Machado,  Cabo  Verde  and 
Areado,  the  five  churches  in  the  province  of  Minas  Geraes,  have 
been  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Miguel  Torres,  who  has  labored 
indefatigably  among  these  widely-scattered  churches,  notwith- 
standing his  poor  health. 

Campanha  is  now  the  residence  of  Rev.  E.  C.  Pereira,  who 
has  organized  a  church  there  and  itinerates  over  a  considerable 
territory. 

RIO  claro. 

In  1863  a  mission  was  established  at  Rio  Claro,  a  city  800 
miles  west  from  Rio  de  Janeiro.  It  is  the  centre  of  a  large  Ger- 
man population.  Mr.  Schneider  was  stationed  among  them  ;  but 
as  "  he  would  not  administer  the  sacrament  without  regard  to  the 
moral  condition  and  fitness  of  the  applicants,  he  had  to  encoun- 
ter opposition."  Discouraged,  he  returned  to  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
and  the  station  remained  until  occupied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Da 
Gama  from  Brotas.     Rev.  Mr.  Lenington  has  been  his  colleague 


88  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

for  a  time,  assisted  afterward  by  a  native  preacher,  Sefior  Iler- 
culano.  8erviees  have  tlms  been  liehl  regularly  at  five  ditierent 
stations,  and  occasionally  at  twenty-one  other  places,  the  present 
nun  l)jr  of  communicants  being  170. 

The  school  established  by  Miss  Kuhl  in  1877,  Miss  Dascomb 
joining  lu-r  in  1-S8(),  and  where  ]\Iiss  Dale  spent  some  time  while 
ae(|uiring  the  language,  is  still  carried  on  by  the  Misses  Kva  and 
►Sophy  Da  Gama  and  Sefior  Herculano.  It  is  most  highly  com- 
mended by  all,  even  Romanists  approving  it  openly. 

BAHIA. 

This  is  a  city  750  miles  N.  N.  E.  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  It  is  the 
oldest  city  in  lirazil,  having  been  founded  in  ir)49,  and,  next  to 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  largest  city  in  Brazil,  containing  a  popula- 
tion of  2()(),00(),  or,  as  some  have  estimated,  250,000.  It  is  the 
capital  of  a  ])rovince  by  the  same  name.  Its  situation  is  beauti- 
fully romantic.  The  harl)or  is  one  of  the  best  in  South  America, 
admitting  ships  of  the  largest  size.  Its  chief  productions  and 
exports  are  cotton,  coffee,  sugar,  manioc,  tobacco,  rum,  dye-sturts, 
fancy  woods,  horns  and  hides.  The  country  of  which  the  city  is 
the  capital  contains  valuable  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead 
and  iron,  with  deposits  of  potash,  alum,  etc.  But  the  commerce 
is  small  compared  with  its  possibilities,  on  account  of  the  want 
of  enterj)rise  of  the  inhabitants.  They  are  ignorant,  dissolute, 
idle,  and  of  course  poor.  Consequently  the  fertile  soil  is  uncul- 
tivated, the  rich  mines  are  undeveloped,  and  the  va.«it  forests  un- 
hewn. Schools  of  every  grade  are  needed,  and  the  purifying,  ele- 
vating, energizing  power  of  the  gospel,  to  make  that  land  among 
the  richest  of  Christ's  heritage. 

The  Rev.  F.  J.  C.  Schneider  occupied  Bahia  as  a  mission  sta- 
tion in  1871,  the  same  year  it  ceased  to  be  the  capital  of  the 
country.  It  is  the  residence  of  the  papal  archbishoj),  and  it  was 
said  to  contain  more  friars  and  nuns  in  its  convents  than  any 
other  part  of  the  land.  This  accounts  in  a  great  measure  for  the 
sad  state  of  the  people,  and  for  their  opposition  to  the  gosj)el. 
In  May,  1877,  Mr.  Schneider  and  family  returned  home,  ami  his 
connection  with  the  Board  was  reluctantly  dissolved  after  a  faith- 
ful service  of  fifteen  years.  The  Rev.  R.  Lenington  and  wife 
succeeded  hini  in  that  field,  and,  with  one  colporteur,  constitute 
the  only  laborei-s  where  many  are  needed.  April,  1881,  the  Rev. 
A.  L.  Blackford  and  his  wife  were  the  only  laborers.  But  in 
Octolier  of  that  year,  Rev.  J.  B.  Cameron  and  wife  joincnl  them, 
remaining  about  three  years. 

Miss  K.  R.  Giiston  in  1883  undertook  a  work  of  visitation 


THE   MISSIONS   IN    SOUTH   AMERICA.  89 

from  house  to  house,  which  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  effective 
agencies  for  the  evangelization  of  the  people  that  had  been  used. 
Her  place  should  be  filled  as  soon  as  possible,  as  she  has  now 
other  duties  as  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Kolb,  who  came  to  the 
mission  in  1884.  Much  is  done  for  the  surrounding  country 
through  colporteurs,  who  put  in  circulation  many  tracts,  Bibles 
and  religious  books. 

Caciioeira. — This  station,  located  fifty  miles  northwest  of 
Bahia  in  the  same  province,  is  an  out-station  of  that  mission. 
Work  was  begun  here  in  1875,  by  J.  F.  Houston,  and  a  church 
was  soon  formed  consisting  of  seven  members.  In  1878,  owing 
to  the  paucity  of  laborers,  some  changes  were  made,  and  Mr. 
Lenington  was  transferred  to  Bahia  with  the  charge  of  this 
station,  and  Mr.  Houston  was  sent  to  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Mr. 
Blackford,  of  Bahia,  now  preaches  there  monthly,  a  colporteur 
maintaining  the  regular  services  at  other  times,  and  steadily 
gaining  influence  among  the  people  of  this  discouraging  field. 

Campos  is  situated  about  150  miles  northwest  of  Rio  de  Ja- 
neiro. It  has  one  native  ordained  missionary.  Rev.  M.  B.  P. 
Carvalhosa. 

So  REN  A  is  a  town  of  3000  inhabitants,  190  miles  southwest  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  with  only  one  teacher,  though  it  commands  a 
large  country.     Rev.  Robert  Lenington  spent  two  years  here. 

SoROCABA,  Faxina  and  Guanby  have  been  in  charge  of  Rev. 
A.  B.  C.  Leite  till  1884,  when  his  sudden  death  occurred  while 
he  Avas  attending  Presbytery.  This  was  an  almost  irreparable 
loss  to  the  mission,  as  he  was  such  an  earnest  and  successful  min- 
ister, and  greatly  beloved  by  all.  Rev.  J.  G.  Miranda,  another 
native  preacher,  who  had  been  laboring  at  Brotas  took  his  place. 

BoTUCATU  is  160  miles  W.  by  N.  from  Sao  Paulo.  In  July, 
1881,  Rev.  George  A.  Landes  and  wife  entered  upon  their  labors 
at  this  new  point,  where  a  resident  had  built  a  chapel  and  called  for 
some  one  to  come  and  preach  the  gospel.  The  promise  of  success 
was  so  great  that  this  benefactor  immediately  added  a  small 
dwelling-house,  and  turned  all  over  to  the  mission.  He  also  made 
an  offer  of  a  building  for  an  academy,  if  the  Board  would  supply 
the  teachei's,  and  another  of  his  own  residence  for  an  orphan 
asylum  if  a  matron  could  be  provided.  As  yet  a  school  of 
40  scholars  has  been  kept  up  during  the  past  year,  while  54  adults 
were  received  into  the  church.  The  work  is  necessarily  slow,  be- 
cause the  people  are  so  scattered. 

Parana,  the  great  southwestern  province  of  Brazil,  has  been 
explored  with  the  eye  of  an  evangelist  during  the  past  year,  by 
Rev.  Robert  Lenington,  who  warmly  advocates  its  occupancy  by 
the  mission.     With   great  earnestness,  the  veteran   missionary 


90  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

])l(a<ls  f(»r  a  y()un<r  man  to  take  his  place  in  the  saddle,  and  lal)i)r 
lor  tlie  120,U(»(>  souls  found  there. 

At  Linieira,  a  school  has  been  maintained  by  the  Rev.  A. 
Pinto  (ludes,  who  also  lu)lds  refrular  Sabbath  services. 

Towards  the  end  of  1876,  Doni  l*edro,  tiie  Emperor  of  Brazil, 
returned  from  his  tour  through  tiie  United  .States  and  JOurope, 
bringing  with  hiu)  new  views  of  civilization  and  a  change  of 
l)olicy  tor  liis  government.  During  his  absence  the  Romish 
party  had  used  their  opportunity  to  gain  influence  and  power  to 
cripple  Protestantism;  but  that  advantage  was  e[»hemeral.  A 
ministry  was  formed  of  liberals  in  sym])athy  with  tlie  emperor 
and  ])opular  sentiment.  Protestantism  was  protected,  and  thus 
our  mission  work  advanced. 

CHURCHES. 

The  churches  in  the  several  missions  have  been  diligently  sow- 
ing the  good  seed  of  the  Word,  and  have  had  reasonable 
accessions  and  a  steady  growth.  A  paucity  of  laborere  has 
necessitated  frequent  changes,  and  in  out-stations  prevented 
regular  pastoral  work.  Still  the  Board  has  seen  great  encourage- 
ment, gathering  more  fruit  than  they  had  reason  to  expect  in 
these  years  of  seed-sowing  and  comparing  the  fruit  of  Romanism 
and  Protestantism.  "  p]ighteen  years  ago  the  firet  Protestant 
church  was  organized  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  two  persons  re- 
ceived into  its  communion  on  profession  of  their  faith.  Since 
that  period  more  than  three  hundred  have  been  admitted  into 
this  one  organization,  mostly  converts  from  Rome.  In  the  early 
part  of  1865  a  second  church  was  established  at  Sao  Paulo,  of 
six  persons,  which  has  had  a  healthy  growth,  and  which  has  sent 
out  several  preachers  of  the  Word.  Near  the  close  of  the  same 
year  a  third  organization  was  formed  at  Jirotas,  consisting  of 
eleven  pei-sons,  which  in  nund)ers  almost  equals  the  church  of 
Kio  dc  Janeiro.  The  people  are,  however,  scattered  in  hamlets, 
and  many  live  a  considerable  distance  from  the  village  of  Jirotas. 
Other  churches  have  been  from  time  to  time  formed,  until  they 
now  reach  about  a  score,  with  a  membershij)  of  one  thousand. 

"  The  door  is  open  to  the  whole  of  Brazil,  The  people  are 
everywhere  accessible  to  the  truth.  Occasionally  there  have 
been  evidences  of  opposition,  hatred,  and  a  persecuting  spirit ; 
but,  considering  all  things,  these  outbreaks  have  been  rare. 
Freedom  of  worshij)  is  guaranteed,  and  government  has  sought 
to  maintain  it.  ]VIore  men  are  needed  to  meet  the  present  de- 
mands of  the  work,  and  more  means  to  take  advantage  of  the 
new  openings,  and  more  prayer  to  give  success  to  the  whole 
enterj)rise." 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  Dl 


EDUCATION 

is  greatly  needed  in  Brazil,  and  especially  among  the  lower 
classes.  A  few  schools  have  been  established.  While  the  whole 
field  needs  a  supply  of  common  schools,  those  of  a  higlier  grade 
are  needed,  where  the  truths  of  revelation  shall  be  emphatically 
taught.  Our  missionaries  have  under  their  supervision  schools 
of  different  kinds.  Some  are  elementary,  others  are  of  a  higher 
grade  ;  some  are  for  day,  others  for  boarding  scholars  ;  some  for 
the  day,  some  for  the  night ;  some  are  for  boys,  some  for  girls, 
and  some  for  both  sexes,  and  all  are  religious,  the  Bible  and 
catechism  being  carefully  taught.  Elementary  schools  are  being 
established  as  fast  as  native  teachers  can  be  prepared,  as  among 
the  freed  men  of  the  South.  The  Rev.  J.  F.  Da  Gama  and 
family,  at  Rio  Claro,  superintend  an  orphan  boarding-school  for 
both  sexes,  aiming  to  prepare  a  class  of  self-denying  laborers  to 
live  among  and  teach  the  poor  of  the  interior,  and  to  act  as 
pioneer  Bible-readers  and  preachers.  The  academy  at  Sao  Paulo 
conducted  by  Mr.  Chamberlain  is  very  successful  in  numbers,  in 
efficient  training  and  in  gospel  influence.  Five  years  since,  the 
emperor  visiting  it  expressed  great  pleasure,  saying  the  secular 
instruction  was  "excellent,  excellent,"  and  were  it  not  so  strongly 
"  propaganda  "  they  might  count  on  his  hearty  support. 

Mrs.  Howell  has  started  a  department  for  girls,  which  is  now 
carried  on  by  Miss  Kulil,  modeled  after  the  Mount  Holyoke 
school,  in  which  system,  diligence  and  piety  combine  to  train 
them  to  love  the  quiet,  energy  and  beauty  of  a  Christian  home. 
At  Brotas  Mr.  Howell  teaches  a  class  for  four  months  in  the 
year,  where  teachers  during  their  vacation  may  be  fitted  for 
Bible-readers  and  evangelists. 

For  this  work  in  Brazil  "  a  great  door  and  effectual  is  opened." 
The  Avhole  of  Brazil  is  open  to  Protestant  evangelization.  "  But 
how  shall  they  believe  in  Piim  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ? 
and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they 
preach  except  they  be  sent?  " 

ITINERATING. 

From  the  very  nature  of  the  work  there  is  a  call  for  itiner- 
ancy. Wherever  the  Imprensa  Evangelica  goes  (a  paper  which 
has  done  great  good),  or  a  tract  or  a  Testament  is  carried,  it 
creates  a  desire  to  hear  the  preached  Word  ;  and  calls  for 
teachers  and  missionary  work  from  remote  districts  are  not  un- 
common. The  field  is  open  for  preaching  the  gospel  from  house 
to  house  and  from  village  to  village.     The  Rev.  J.  F.  Da  Gama 


92  HISTORICAL   .SKKTt'H    OF 

has  (lone  imicli  of  such  work,  and  successfully  The  number  of 
missionaries  on  the  field  is  so  small  that  they  cannot  dwell  at  all 
the  accessible  ]K)ints,  or  meet  all  calls.  The  best  they  can  do  Is 
to  make  preaching  tours.  These  are  often  fruitful  of  great  good. 
Mr.  Houston  tells  us  of  nine  i)ers()ns  confessing  Christ  at  one  of 
tliese  preacliing-places,  with  four  others  only  prevented  by  sick- 
ness. The  day  has  not  yet  passed  for  preaching  and  teaching 
from  town  to  town,  in  imitation  of  the  Master ;  and  if  we  iiad  a 
corps  of  judicious  evangelists  to  travel  over  tiie  whole  ccjuntry, 
witli  accompanying  colporteurs,  preacliing  and  scattering  the 
Word,  it  would  herald  and  ])repare  the  way  for  the  local  mis- 
sionaries' work,  and  avoid  years  of  waiting  before  reaping  a 
harvest. 

woman's  work. 

An  important  agency  in  the  evangelization  of  Brazil  is 
woman's  work  for  woman.  This  power  in  the  uplifting  of  the 
nations  bids  fair  to  be  second  to  no  other  as  an  important  factor 
in  the  problem  of  missions.  Singularly  true  is  this  of  Brazil, 
where  the  women  are  the  most  obstinate  opposcre  of  mission 
work,  and  where  custom  makes  daily  life  one  of  repression,  and 
almost  like  India's  zenanas.  Mrs.  Agassiz  writes :  "  Among  my 
own  sex  I  have  never  seen  such  sad,  sad  lives — lives  deprived  of 
healthy,  invigorating  happiness,  intolerably  monotonous,  inac- 
tive, stagnant."  Miss  Kuhl  whites :  "  Tiie  gospel  cannot  njake 
substantial  progress  in  Brazil  until  the  women  are  more  eflect- 
ually  reached."  Woman  alone  can  fully  reach  woman.  The 
girls  must  be  educated,  and  Christian  women  are  their  best 
teachers.  These  must  be  multiplied  until  a  Christian  school  is 
accessible  for  every  child  and  youth  of  Brazil.  Here  woman's 
work  for  woman  is  not  only  in  place,  but  is  fast  becoming  a 
potent  arm  of  Christian  missions. 


BRAZIL  OPEN  AND  IMPORTANT. 

The  general  aspect  of  mission  work  in  Brazil  is  good.  Per- 
haps no  other  mission  field  is  more  accessible  or  promises  better 
results.  The  government  protects  Protestantism  ;  the  poj)ulace 
distrust  and  dislike  Komanism  ;  the  general  intelligent  desire  of 
the  authorities  and  the  people  is  for  ])rogress  and  enlightenment, 
Avhich  they  see  only  in  Protestantism  and  through  Protestant 
missions.  Hence  our  missions,  with  the  ])rcss,  the  school  and 
the  church,  are  receiving  unequivocal  tokens  of  public  favor. 
We  have  twenty-eight  churches  there,  and  our  missionaries  say 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SOUTH   AMERICA.  93 

tliat  many  places  are  open  to  the  ofospel;  but  there  are  no  labor- 
ers to  occupy  them.  It  is  the  old  cry  of  fields  white,  ready  to 
harvest,  and  the  laborers  few.  The  night  of  open  jiersecution  is 
almost  passed ;  the  light  of  day  is  breaking.  Brazil  needs  more 
laborers.  She  has  only  one  Protestant  minister  to  six  hundred 
thousand  of  her  population.  The  present  is  eminently  fixvorable 
for  earnest  and  extended  operations,  and  the  golden  opportunity 
to  extend  our  church  policy  over  one  of  the  richest  portions  of 
the  globe. 

But  why  trouble  ourselves  to  evangelize  Brazil  ?  For  pure 
benevolence.  They  are  suff'erere  to  be  delivered  from  a  worse  than 
Egyptian  bondage,  from  a  worse  tyranny  than  Nero's.  That 
was  limited,  this  is  perpetual.  That  was  by  one  man,  this  by 
thousands.  That  reached  only  the  body,  this  reaches  head,  heart 
and  life. 

To  benefit  ihein.  They  are  poor,  ignorant,  idle  and  vicious- 
Missions  propose  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  employ  the  idle,  to 
give  competence  to  the  individual,  to  create  wealth  for  the  state, 
to  substitute  virtue  for  vice,  and  thrift  and  happiness  for  discom- 
fort and  suffering. 

To  Christianize  them.  They  are  infidel  and  heathenish,  and 
generation  after  generation  men  are  dying  without  even  hearing 
of  Christ  as  "  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world." 

To  redeem  one  of  the  finest  countries  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
from  Avaste  and  desolation.  Brazil  has  3,200,000  square  miles  of 
territory.  Allow  one-third  for  Avaste  and  water,  and  it  leaves 
2,133,334  square  miles  of  arable  land.  Put  two  hundred  persons 
to  the  square  mile — there  are  now  only  five  and  one-half — and  it 
gives  a  population  of  over  426,000,000.  That  equals  one-third  of 
the  whole  population  of  the  globe.  And  the  country  can  easily 
sustain  that  number.  With  a  vastly  fertile  soil — and  no  country 
has  better — with  a  tropical  climate ;  with  great  variety  and 
strength  of  growth  (manioc  will  produce  to  the  acre  six  times  as 
much  nutriment  as  wheat)  ;  with  a  rich  commerce  of  coflee, 
sugar,  rice,  cotton,  cinchona,  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  diamonds, 
— it  might  well  be  one  of  the  most  prosperous  countries  of  earth. 
Its  present  population  is  about  11,000,000,  its  area  about  2,400,- 
800,000  acres,  or  almost  225  acres  for  each  man,  woman  and 
child,  or  over  1000  aci'cs  to  each  family,  Avhen  every  rood  would 
yield  ample  bread  for  a  man. 

Carry  the  gospel  there,  and  people  the  country  with  active, 
intelligent  Christians,  and  what  treasures  of  wealth  will  be  creat- 
ed for  commerce  and  for  Christ !     With  its  wealth  of  vegetation 


94  niSTORICAL  SKETCH    OF 

all  utilize<l,  what  a  magnificent  domain  for  Him  who  created  it ! 
Tliink  of  our  own  country  increased  ten-fold  in  population  and 
in  wealth,  anil  you  have  what  lirazil  will  be  as  sure  a«  God's 
word  is  true  I  "  For  bnuss  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for  iron  I  will 
bring  silver,  and  for  wood  bnuss,  and  for  stones  iron."  "  A  little 
one  shall  become  a  thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation. 
I  THE  Lord  will  hasten  it  in  His  time." 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA,  1885. 


UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA. 

BoooTA  :  the  capital  of  the  country  ;  situated  on  an  elevated 
plain ;  latitude  four  degrees  north ;  climate  temperate ;  ])opulation 
estimated  at  80,000 ;  occupied  as  a  mission  station,  18o();  mission- 
ary laborers — Rev.  M.  E.  Caldwell  and  wife,  Rev.  T.  H.  Candor 
and  wife,  Miss  Maria  B.  Franks ;  two  native  teachers. 

chill 

Valparaiso,  the  chief  seaport  of  Chili,  latitude  38  deg.  south ; 
population,  100,000;  laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  David  Trumbull, 
D.D.,  A.  M.  Merwin,  J.  M.  Allis,  and  Rev.  S.  W.  Curtis  and  their 
wives ;  Rev.  W.  E.  Dodge,  Miss  Myra  H.  Strout  and  two  assist- 
ants. 

Santiago,  the  capital  of  Chili,  120  miles  inland  from  Valpa- 
raiso, with  which  it  has  railroad  connection:  Population,  125,- 
000  ;  laborers — Rev.  INIessrs.  S.  J.  Christen,  W.  H.  Lester,  Dun- 
can Cameron,  Mrs.  Christen. 

CoNCEPCiON,  near  the  coast,  about  300  miles  south  of  Valpa- 
raiso, connected  with  Santiago  by  railroad  :  Popidation,  20,000 ; 
laborers — Rev.  J.  F.  Garvin  and  wife,  and  one  a.s.sistant. 

Callao,  Peru — Rev.  J.  W.  Thompson. 

BRAZIL. 

Bahia:  735  miles  N.  N.  E.  of  Rio  de  Janeiro;  missionary 
laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  A.  L.  Blackford,  J.  B.  Kolb,  and  their 
wives  ;  one  native  sissLstant  and  two  colporteurs.  Out-stations : 
Cachoeira — one  colporteur,  Larangeiras. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SOUTH    AMERICA. 


95 


Campos  :  about  150  miles  N.  E.  of  Rio  de  Janeiro — Rev.  M.  P. 
Carvalhosa. 

Rio  DE  Janeiro  :  the  capital  of  the  country ;  population  vari- 
ously stated  up  to  400,000  ;  occupied  as  a  mission  station  in  1860; 
missionary  laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  J.  F.  Houston,  John  M.  Kyle 
and  their  wives,  and  Rev.  A.  B.  Trajano  ;  one  colporteur  and  one 
teacher. 

Sao  Paulo  :  300  miles  W.  S.  W.  of  Rio  de  Janeiro ;  chief 
town  in  the  province  of  the  same  name  ;  population,  27,000  ;  oc- 
cupied as  a  mission  station  in  1803 ;  missionary  laborers — Rev. 
Geo.  W.  Chamberlain,  Rev.  Robert  Lenington  (a  part  of  the 
year),  and  their  wives  ;  Miss  Ella  Kuhl,  Miss  Mary  P.  Dascomb, 
Miss  P.  A.  Thomas  ;  two  teachers  and  one  colporteur. 

SoROCABA  :  60  miles  W.  of  Sao  Paulo — J.  G.  Miranda. 

Rio  Claro  :  over  120  miles  IST.  W.  of  Sao  Paulo  ;  occupied  as 
a  mission  station  in  1863 ;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  J.  F.  Da 
Gama  and  his  wife  ;  Miss  Eva  Da  Gama ;  two  native  teachers, 
and  one  colporteur. 

Brotas  :  170  miles  N.  W.  of  Sao  Paulo  ;  occupied  as  a  mis- 
sion station  in  1868  ;  missionary  laborers — two  native  teachers  ; 
Rev.  J.  B.  Howell  and  wife,  residing  at  San  Carlos. 

Caldas  :  170  miles  N.  of  Sao  Paulo — Rev.  Miguel  Torres. 
Campanha  :  Rev.  E.  C.  Pereira. 

BoTUCATU :  160  miles  W.  by  N.  from  Sao  Paulo — Rev.  Geo. 
A.  Landes  and  his  wife. 

Parana  :  Rev.  Robert  Lenington  (a  part  of  the  year). 


Missionaries  in  South  America,  1853-1886. 

*Diert.    Figures,  Term  of  Service  in  the  Field. 


United  States  of  Colombia. 


Caldwell,  Rev.  M.  E., 

1880- 

Pitkin,  Rev.  P.  H., 

1866-1872 

Caldwell,  Mrs., 

1880- 

Pitkin,  Mrs., 

1866-1872 

Candor,  Rev.  T.  H., 

1882- 

Pratt,  Rev.  Horace  B., 

18.56-1860 

Candor,  Mrs.  (Miss  M. 

*Sliarpe,  Rev.  S.  M., 

1858-1860 

Ramsey,  1880), 

1884- 

Sharpe,  Mrs.  ^lartiia, 

1858-1860 

Franks,  Miss  M.  B., 

1883- 

Wallace,  Rev.  T.  F., 

1862-1875 

McFarren,  Miss  Kate, 

1869- 

188.3 

Wallace,  Mrs., 

1862-1875 

McLaren,  Rev.  Wm.  E., 

18(50- 

lSfi:{ 

Weaver,  Rev.  W., 

1874-1880 

McLaren,  Mrs., 

1860- 

1863 

Weaver,  Mrs., 

1874-1880 

96 


msTCMUCAI-   SKiri'CEI    OF    MISSION'S   IX  SOUTH   AMKUKA. 


Brazil. 


inackfonl,  Jlev.  A.  L.,  lS(;0-7fi;  1S80 


aHlackfnrtl,  Mrs., 

18ti(>-1876 

Caineroii,  Kt'V.  .1.  B., 

1881- 

CaiiKTdii,  Mrs., 

ISSl- 

CliaiiilKTlaiii,  I'ev.  (i.  W. 

1S(;;V- 

("liainherlaiii,  Mrs., 

18(58- 

('hainberlHiii,  .Mis.s  M., 

1876-1879 

Da  (iaina,  Kev.  J.  F., 

1870- 

Da  (iaiiia,  Mrs., 

1870- 

Da  (lama,  Miss  Eva, 

\S7G- 

Dasi-oiiib,  Miss  M.  P.,  18Gf 

-7(i;  1880 

Ilazlett,  Rev.  D.  M., 

1875-1880 

Ilazlett,  Mrs., 

187")-1880 

Houston,  Rev.  J.  F., 

1875- 

*Hoiiston,  ^Irs., 

1875-1881 

Houston,  Mrs.  (Miss  S.  A. 

Dale,  1881), 

1883- 

Howell,  Rev.  J.  B., 

i87;{- 

Howell,  Mrs., 

1877- 

Kolb,  Rev.  J.  B., 

188-lr- 

Kolb,  Mrs.  (Miss  CJaston, 

1.H8.S),  188-t- 

Kuhl,  Miss  Ella,  1874- 

Kvle,  Rev.  J.  M.,  1882- 

Kvle,  Mrs.,  1882- 

Landes,  Rev.  G.  A.,  1880- 

Landes,  Mrs.,  1880- 

Leniugton,  Rev.  R.,  18(i8- 

Leniiit,'ton,  Mrs.,  18(iS- 

MeKee,  Rev.  H.  W.,  ist;7-187n 

MeKee,  Mrs.,  1S()7-1S70 

Pires,  Rev.  K.  N..  l,S(ii)-18(i9 

Schneider,  Rev.  F.  J.  C,  18()1-1877 

Schneider,  Mrs.,  18(il-1877 
»Sinionton,  Rev.  Ashbel  ( J.,18r)!t-18(!7 

«Sinionton,  Mrs.  Helen,  18t)3-1864 

Tliouins,  .Miss  P.  K.,  1H77- 

Vaii  Orden,  Rev.  E.,  1872-1876 

Van  Orden,  Mrs.,  1.S72-1.S76 


Chili. 


Allis,  Rev.  J.  M., 
Allis,  Mrs., 
r'jinieron,  Rev.  D., 
Christen,  l{ev.  ij.  .1., 
Christen,  Mrs., 
Curtiss,  Rev.  S.  W., 
("urii.ss,  Mrs., 
Dodge,  Rev.  W.  E., 
(Jarvin,  Rev.  J.  F., 
(Jarvin,  Mrs., 
*Guzn)an,  Rev.  J.  M.  I. 
»Ibanez.  Rev.  J.  M., 
Lester,  Rev.  W.  H., 


Compiled  from  lists  prepared  by  Rev.  J. 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 


188-^ 

*Lester,  ifrs.. 

1883-1884 

1884- 

:MacLaren,  Rev.  D.  C, 

1885- 

1884- 

JIcLean,  Rev.   Eneas, 

1878- 

1873- 

McLean,  Mrs., 

1878- 

1873- 

McLean,  Rev.  Robert, 

1877- 

1875- 

McLean,  Mrs., 

1877- 

1875- 

'  Merwin,  Rev.  A.  M., 

18()()- 

1.SK.3- 

Alerwin,  Mrs., 

IsdG- 

1884- 
1884- 

Sayre,  Rev.  S., 
*Savre,  Mrs., 

LS6G-1877 

1871-1875 

Strout,  Miss  Mvra  IL, 

1884- 

1872-1876 

Trund)un,  Rev.  D., 

184G- 

1883- 

Trumbull,  Mrs., 

1846- 

C.  Lowrie,  D.D.,  Secretary  of  the 


Books  of  Refekenck. 

Brazil  and  the  Brazilians.     Fletcher  and  Kidder.     $4.00. 

Adventures  in  Patagonia,     licv.  Titus  Coan.     *1.L''). 

A  Journey  in  Brazil.     Professor  and  Mrs.  Louis  Agassiz.    $5.00. 


rua. 


Rev.  R.  H.  NASSAU,  M.  D. 


MISSIONS  IN  AFRICA. 


OUTLINE. 


9. 
10. 


,  Liberia  Mission. 

1.  Location. 

2.  Early  History. 

.3.  Missions  and  Missionaries. 

4.  The  Aborigines  and  the  Colonists. 

5.  Losses  by  Sickness. 

6.  Animosity  to  Whites. 

7.  Self-support. 

8.  Public  Schools. 
The  Government  of  Liberia. 
Pressing  Necessity. 

II.  Gaboon  and  Corisco  Mission. 

1.  Geography. 

2.  Physical  Aspects  of  the  CoHutry. 

3.  The  People. 

4.  Government. 

5.  Distinctive  Features. 

(1)  Absence  of  Roads.  (2)  No 
Currency.  (3)  Unwritten  Lan- 
guage.    (4)  Religious  Worship.- 

Hopeful  Characteristics. 

(1)  Receptivity.     (2)  Hospitality. 
(3)  AfFectionateness.     (4)  Docil- 
ity. 
.  Unfavorable  Points. 

(1)  Anarchy.  (2)  Indolence.  (3) 
Slavery.  (4)  Intemperance.  (5) 
Polygamy. 


6. 


8.  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Stations. 
(1)  Baraka.     (2)  Alongo.    (3)  Bo- 

londo.     (4)  Kangwe.     (5)  Tala- 
guga. 

9.  Success  of  Schools  and  Churches. 
(1)  Corisco.     (2)  Benita.     (3)  Ga- 
boon.   (4)  Batanga.    (5)  Ogove. 

10.  Encouragement. 

(1)  Change  of  Customs.  (2)  Edu- 
cation. (3)  Interest  in  Civiliza- 
tion. (4)  Opened  Doors.  (5) 
Freedom  in  Woman's  Work. 
(6)  Licentiates.  (7)  Self-sup- 
port. (8)  Respect  for  Law.  (9) 
The  World's  Interest  in  the 
Development  of  Africa. 
III.  Remarks  on  Health  in 
Africa. 

1.  Reckless  Statements. 

2.  Admitted  Insalubrity  of  certain 

Parts. 

3.  Deaths  of  Sailors,  Traders  etc. 

4.  Missionary  Lives. 

5.  Favorable  Localities. 

6.  Causes  other  than  Climate. 

7.  Isolation  and  Mental  Depression. 

8.  Present  Improved  Condition. 

9.  Medical  Education. 


I.  LIBERIA  MISSION. 
1.  Location. 


The  mission  supported  by  our  Presbyterian  Board,  under 
care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Western  Africa,  lies  in  the  republic 
of  Liberia,  whose  limits  are  7°  25'  N.  lat.  down  to  4°  44'  N.  lat., 
including  a  little  over  five  hundred  miles  of  sea-coast,  with  an 
average  width  interior  of  fifty  miles.  This  interior  extension 
may  be  increased,  the  territory  of  native  princes  which  has  been 
ceded  to  the  republic  not  having  very  definite  eastern  limits. 

99 


100  historical  sketch  of 

2.  Eakly  History. 

The  first  settlement  on  that  coast  was  by  eighty-nine  free 
blacks,  on  January  7,  1821,  who  sailed  from  New  York  in  1820. 
In  April,  1822,  a  colony  of  nianuinittcd  slaves  from  the  United 
States  was  jilanted  by  the  American  Colonization  Society,  which 
for  twenty-five  years  retained  tiic  supervision  of  them,  under 
Ciovernors  Ashmun,  Pinney  and  others,  until  the  erection  of  the 
republic,  witii  its  capital  at  Monrovia,  on  August  24,  1847. 
Various  missionary  hoards,  re|)resenting  all  the  evangelical 
Christian  churches,  followed  with  their  agents  their  membere 
who  had  thus  gone  as  colonists,  whose  nund)ers,  up  to  the  pres- 
ent, amount  to  fifteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty.  To 
them  are  to  be  added  recaptiv(s  from  slave-shij)s,  landed  in  Li- 
beria, five  thousand  seven  liundred  and  twenty,  making  a  foreign 
])opulation  of  over  twenty-one  tiiousand.  These,  with  the  abor- 
igines, compose  a  total  population  estimated  at  about  six  hun- 
dred thousand. 

3.  Missions  and  Missionaries. 

The  first  mission  work  in  Liberia  was  done  by  Lot  Gary,  a 

slave  who,  having  bought  his  freedom,  was  sent  by  Baptist  aid 
in  1821,  and  wiu)  labored  until  his  death,  in  1828.  In  answer 
to  an  appeal  by  Governor  Ashmun  in  1825,  there  came  Swiss 
missionaries  from  Basle,  who  finally  were  transferred  to  Sierra 
Leone. 

The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
in  1834  sent  Rev.  J.  L.  Wilson,  who  located  at  Cape  Palmas. 
Thither  followed  him  Rev.  Messrs.  White,  William  Walker, 
Griswold  and  Alexander  Wilson  and  their  wives.  At  first  there 
was  success ;  but  after  some  reverses,  embarrassments  of  the 
Board,  and  collisions  with  the  neighboring  American-negro  col- 
ony from  Maryland,  it  was,  seven  years  later,  removed  to  Ga- 
boon. 

Our  Presbyterian  mission  was  commenced  in  February,  1833, 
at  Monrovia,  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Pinney,  the  more  special  object 
being  w'ork  among  the  aborigines,  and  only  incidentally  for  the 
colonists.  Stations  were  extended  to  the  Kroo  coast,  near  Cape 
Palmas.  Messrs.  Laird,  Cloud,  Finley,  Cnnfield,  Alward  and 
Sawyer  lived  very  short  lives  in  the  difficult  climate.  The 
Board  then,  in  1842,  tried  the  experiment  of  sending  only  col- 
ored ministers,  of  whom  Rev.  Messrs.  Eden,  Priest  and  Wilson 
ofiered  themselves  ;  and  Settra  Kroo,  Sinoe  ("  Greenville  ")  and 
Monrovia  were  occu])ied.  The  place  made  vacant  by  Mr. 
Eden's  death  was,  in   1847,  occu])ied  by  Rev.  H.  W.  Ellis,  a 


TIIK    MISSIONS    IN    AFUK^A.  101 

freed  slave  from  Alabama.  The  Presbytery  of  Western  Africa 
was  constituted  in  1848,  and  attached  to  the  Synod  of  Philadel- 
phia ;  but  it  was  found  that  American  negroes  were  not  exempt 
from  fever,  and,  by  their  slave  origin,  lacked  skill  for  the  con- 
duct of  affairs.  Other  white  men  were  again  sent  out,  notable 
among  them  Rev.  D.  A.  Wilson,  who  did  effective  educational 
work  at  the  Alexander  High  School,  established  at  IVIonrovia  in 
1849.  Mr.  B.  V.  K.  James,  a  colored  man,  also  carried  on  a 
very  successful  school,  his  integrity  and  ability  making  him  dis- 
tinguishedly  useful. 

After  many  discouragements,  there  came  a  year  of  blessing  in 
1857.  Rev.  Messrs.  Amos  and  Miller,  colored  men,  were  sent  in 
1859  from  the  Ashmun  Institute  (now  Lincoln  University),  and 
Rev.  E.  W.  Blyden,  a  graduate  of  Alexander  High  School, 
being  added  to  the  force,  two  new  stations  were  opened.  Mr. 
Amos  died  in  1864,  and  Mr.  Miller  in  1865.  Rev.  Edward 
Boeklen,  of  Germany,  sent  to  take  charge  of  the  High  School  in 
1866,  died  in  1868.  A  son  of  the  veteran  of  that  field,  Rev. 
James  Priest,  of  Sinou,  a  young  man  of  promise,  sent  out  a  few 
years  ago  as  a  teacher,  has  recently  died.  A  graduate  of  Lincoln 
University  has  lately  been  appointed  to  teach  in  the  school  at 
Schlieffiin,  and  to  act  as  a  lay  missionary. 

4.  Aborigines  and  the  Colonists. 

Harmony  did  not  exist  between  the  aborigines  and  the  colon- 
ists. The  latter,  instead  of  feeling  that  the  country  was  their 
home,  and  affiliating  with  the  natives  as  brethren,  kept  up  class 
distinctions,  looked  on  the  natives  with  contempt,  and  treated 
them  as  servants,  and  often  as  slaves.  This  engendered  ill-will 
and  quarrels  that  led  to  frequent  assaults  by  the  native  tribes,  in 
which  English  and  American  men-of-war  have  had  sometimes  to 
interfere  for  the  protection  of  the  colonists. 

5.  Losses  by  Sickness. 

The  climate  was  exceptionally  trying  to  white  missionaries, 
and  almost  none  the  less  so  to  the  colonist  negroes,  whose  birth 
and  hereditary  constitution  in  America  gave  them  an  unexpected 
susceptibility  to  fever. 

6.  Animosity  to  Whites. 

Liberia's  entire  political  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  colonists. 
Tn  0  Avhite  man  may  hold  office.      The  appointment  of  white  mis- 
sionaries by  our  boards  to  superintend  the  financial  aflraii*s  of  the 
5 


102  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

several  missions  was  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  the  colonists, 
and  breil  animosity  from  the  Liberians  toward  tlie  white  mission- 
aries. This  feeling  did  not  exist  toward  colored  ministers  from 
this  country,  and  they  seem  therefore  proper  persons  to  be  sent 
to  that  part  of  Africa. 

7.  Self-Support. 

The  unwillingness  of  the  aborigines  to  pay  for  the  gospel,  and 
the  poverty  of  the  colonists  at  first  preventing  them  from  doing 
so,  the  various  mission  boards  assumed,  at  the  inception  of  their 
work,  the  entire  expense.  As  gradually  the  duty  of  self-support 
was  urged,  and  aid  was  withdrawn,  the  colonists  have  not  re- 
sponded even  to  the  extent  of  their  ability,  and  some  schools  have 
been  given  up  and  several  stations  abandoned.  This  was  the 
more  necessitated  because,  while  receiving  aid  from  the  boards, 
the  recipients  wished  unrestricted  control  of  the  disposition  of 
funds,  and  resented  the  supervision  by  white  treasurers — in  the 
absence  of  which  supervision,  money  had  been  unwisely  and 
wastefully  expended. 

8.  Public  Schools. 

There  are  few  common  schools  in  the  Liberian  republic  under 
government  care.  Almost  all  the  schools  are  supported  by  foreign 
missionary  funds.  There  is  a  college  at  Monrovia,  supported  by 
American  non-missionary  aid,  lately  under  the  ])residency  of 
Rev.  E.  W.  Blyden,  LL.I).,but  its  status  is  that  only  of  an  acad- 
emy. The  teachers  of  the  foreign  missionary  schools  thus  far 
have  supplied  all  the  education  that  the  demands  of  the  country 
called  for,  and  there  are  not  enough  educated  lads  wishing  a 
collegiate  course  to  start  the  college  classes.  The  few  who  have 
wished  this  higher  education  have  obtained  it  by  being  sent  to 
America  for  that  purpose. 

9.  The  Government  of  Liberia. 

The  government  suffers  for  the  lack  of  honest  and  intelligent 
officers  to  carry  it  on.  Much  charity  may  l)e  allowed  Liberia  in 
this  experiment.  Very  few  of  the  colonists  "  had  any  experience 
in  national  affairs  or  political  life.  The  many  had  been  reared 
in  servitude  and  in  a  state  of  dependence"  and  the  new  arrivals 
of  manumitted  slaves,  sent  from  time  to  time,  brought,  with  rare 
exceptions,  only  ])overty  and  ignorance.  Tiiis  is  part  of  the 
bjirden  the  government  carries  to-day.  Many  of  the  colonists, 
instead  of  all  being  "missionaries"  to  the  heathen,  became  de- 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   AFRICA.  103 

graded  themselves,  by  adopting  all  the  vices  and  even 
the  superstitions  of  heathenism.  Drunkenness  is  prevalent.  The 
admirable  capabilities,  agricultural  and  commercial,  of  the 
country  are  being  developed  almost  solely  by  foreign  capital  and 
energy. 

10.  Pressing  Necessity. 

Our  Liberian  mission  needs  well-educated  American  negroes, 
of  virtue  and  integrity,  to  infuse  new  life  among  their  lellow- 
colonists,  to  do  justice  to  their  aborginal  coast  population,  and  to 
push  the  work  back  into  the  interior,  among  the  tribes  over 
whom  Mohammedan  influence  is  spreading  from  the  northeast. 


II.  GABOON  AND  CORISCO  MISSION. 

A  mission  was  established  on  Corisco  Island  by  our  Presby- 
terian Board  in  1850,  and  was  successfully  extended  northward. 
Eight  years  previously,  in  1842,  a  mission  had  also  been  located 
in  the  estuary  of  Gaboon,  under  the  care  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  which,  after  many  re- 
verses, was  finally,  in  1870,  formally  transferred  to  the  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  incorporated  into  the 
Corisco  Mission,  whose  official  name  was  then  changed  to  "  The 
Gaboon  and  Corisco  Mission." 

1.  Geography. 

The  field  of  operations  of  this  mission  lies  on  the  western  coast 
of  Africa,  in  its  equatorial  portion,  in  the  Bight  of  Benin  of  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  between  the  fourth  degree  of  north  latitude  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Kongo-Livingstone  river,  in  the  sixth  degree  of 
south  latitude,  including,  in  the  six  hundred  miles  between  these 
extreme  points,  the  Bay  of  Corisco,  of  Gaboon  (an  estuary  or 
sea-inlet,  usually  known  as  Gaboon  "  river  ")  and  Nazareth  bay 
(the  recipient  of  the  Ogove  river). 

2.  Physical  Aspects. 

The  coast  line  is  low,  rising  towards  and  below  the  equator. 
The  navigation  of  the  shore  is  dangerous,  with  reefs  and  isolated 
rocks  ;  and  the  mouths  of  the  numerous  rivers  are  obstructed  by 
sand-bars.  Close  to  the  hard,  smooth,  yellowish  sand  beach  is  a 
dense  growth  of  bushes,  flowering  vines,  and  low  trees,  above 
Avhich   tower  distinctively  the  gracefully-rounded  heads   of  the 


1()4  insromcAL  sketch  of 

cocoa,  oil,  bamboo,  and  otlier  palnus.  Tl)i.<  narrow  strip  of  jungle 
follows  the  shore  line.  .Just  hack  from  it  is  a  sandy  prairie,  that, 
in  many  j)arts,  is  swampy,  bearint;  a  coarse  trrju<s,  <rro\ving  in 
tults,  which,  in  its  tender  staj^a's,  is  iod  on  by  herds  of  oxen,  ante- 
lopes, and  other  wild  animals.  Jiack  of  this,  at  an  avera<fC  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  from  the  sea,  the  land  slowly  rises,  with  a  stiff, 
yellow  clay,  that  bears  a  heavy  forest  growth  of  timl)er,  extend- 
ing inland  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  miles.  This  forest  is 
roamed  by  herds  of  elephants,  oxen,  pigs,  anteloj)es,  ga/x'Ues, 
monkeys,  chimi;anzecs,  gorillas,  and  other  animals;  and  the 
numerous  rivers  swarm  with  hippopotami.  These  rivers,  the 
Benita,  Muni,  Gaboon,  Ogove  and  Kongo,  drain  the  country, 
and  are  fed  by  very  many  small  affluents.  A  chain  of  mountains, 
the  Sierra  del  Crystal,  runs  from  one  extreme  northern  j)oint, 
Batanga,  where  it  actually  juts  into  the  sea,  in  a  southeastern 
coui-se,  until  it  .strikes  the  Kongo-Livingstone  far  inland,  making 
the  "  Yellala  Falls  "  of  C'apt.  Tuckey. 

3.  The  People. 

The  natives  roam  through  the  forests,  hunting  ivory  and  gatli- 
ering  ebony,  dye-woods,  palm-oil,  and  gums  cojjal  and  caoutchouc. 
But  they  build  their  villages  only  on  the  banks  of  streams  for 
convenience  of  their  canoes  and  boats,  the  water-courees  being 
their  only  highways.  Their  farms  of  plantains  (a  variety  of 
banana),  cassava  ("manioc,"  tapioca),  maize,  sugar-cane,  etc., 
are  made  in  forest  clearings.  The  features  and  color  are  of  the 
typical  negro ;  but  in  these  features  there  is  great  variety,  some 
tribes  being  much  more  delicately  fashioned  than  others,  even  to 
a  degree  of  beauty;  and  among  the  tribes  further  from  the  coast 
the  shades  of  color  become  less  dark.  The  population  is  sparsely 
scattered  over  the  country,  the  density  of  the  forest  driving 
human  life  to  the  rivers'  banks.  In  the  more  open  countrv  of 
the  far  interior  are  large,  populous  towns.  The  tribes  arc  very 
numerous  and  exceedingly  clannish.  Each  possesses  its  own  dia- 
lect belonging  to  the  great  ]5antu  family  of  hxnguages,  which 
covers  the  entire  ecjuatorial  portion  of  Africa  between  the  South 
Atlantic  and  Indian  oceans,  and  from  3°  north  latitude  to  as  far 
south  as  Zulu-land. 

4.  Government. 

The  government  of  the  region  included  in  our  mission  field  is 
nominally  under  the  foreign  })owers  of,  respectively,  Great  Bri- 
tain and  (ierniany  at  the  northern  end,  Spain  at  Corisco,  France 
on  the  cfjuator,  and  I'ortugal   on   the  southern  end.     But  practi- 


TIIK   MISSIONS    IN   AFRICA.  105 

cally  these  governments  exercise  little  authority  beyond  the  sifjjht 
of  their  custom-houses  or  the  presence  of  their  gun-boats.  The 
natives  originally  lived  under  a  patriarchal  form  of  government, 
no  tribe  being  governed  by  any  one  ruler,  but  each  vilhige 
directed  by  a  local  "chief"  or  "headman,"  mistakenly  called 
"  king,"  whose  position  was  due  only  to  his  being  senior  member 
of  the  family,  and  who  had  authority  only  so  far  as  his  age  or 
force  of  character  could  command  respect.  The  foreign  govern- 
ments forced  on  the  natives,  while  they  have  not  been  cordially 
accepted,  and  therefore  as  yet  exert  very  little  authority,  have 
broken  up  the  little  protection  which  that  patriarchal  govern- 
nient  did  give  to  the  country.  The  result  is  largely  anarchy, 
where  individual  power  and  daring  makes  private  rights  insecure 
and  travelling  often  dangerous. 

5.  Distinctive  Features. 

1.  There  are  no  roads. — The  narrow  forest  paths  are  trodden 
single-file  in  hunting  or  in  emigrating  from  the  bank  of  one  river 
to  another.  The  beach  on  the  coast  can  be  traversed  by  horse 
or  donkey  or  hammock-bearer.  But  almost  the  entire  travel  and 
trade  is  done  in  native  canoes  and  boats  dug  from  a  single  tree- 
trunk,  and  by  small  foreign  sloops,  schooners,  and  steam  launches. 
Our  missionary  travel  had  always  been  by  small,  open  boats, 
dangerously  traversing  by  sail  the  ocean  for  distances  of  a  hun- 
dred miles  or  more,  and  by  oar  the  inland  rivers.  In  1871  was 
purchased  for  the  mission  a  handsome,  rapid-sailing,  sloop-rigged 
yacht,  the  "  Elfe,"  which  was  most  comfortable  and  serviceable  for 
two  years,  when,  by  an  unwise  economy  in  dispensing  with  a  re- 
sponsible captain,  it  w'as  lost  on  Corisco  rocks.  It  was  replaced 
by  the  "  Hudson,"  a  small  schooner  of  forty  tons,  which,  though 
safe  and  useful,  was,  by  her  painful  slowness,  a  discomfort,  and 
required  constant  repairs  because  of  the  unworthy  materials  of 
which  she  was  built.  She  has  lately  been  sold  and  a  new  and 
foster  schooner  has  been  built,  which  will  render  sea-travel  easier. 
As  these  vessels  are  available  only  for  sea-service  they  are  of  no 
use  for  advance  up  the  rivers ;  and  thus  the  interior  has  had  to 
depend  on  boats  propelled  by  oars  and  the  occasional  favor  of 
the  small  ti'ading  steamers.  Our  journeys  in  these  are  a  tax  on 
their  courtesy  ;  and,  at  best,  they  fail  to  fill  our  want,  for  they 
run  irregularly,  and  are  too  crowded  with  their  own  goods  to 
carry  our  needed  supplies.  Our  extension  into  the  interior  via 
the  Ogove  calls  for  a  steamer  light  enough  for  river  service  and 
yet  sufficiently  large  to  take  the  place  of  sailing  vessels  for  the 
coast  stations. 


lUG  IIISTOKU'AL    SKETCH    OF 

2.  There  is  no  currency. — All  payments  are  made  in  barter  of 
beads,  knives,  fish-books,  ])lates,  calico  print-*,  etc.,  etc.  With 
the.se  we  buv  materials  for  building  houses,  pay  boatmen  or  other 
employes,  and  buy  food  for  ourselves  and  school-children  The 
transportation  of  loads  of  these  goods  by  boat  or  on  the  backs  of 
porters,  as  described  by  Stanley,  Du  Chaillu,  and  other  African 
travellei-s,  is  a  great  hindrance  to  rapid  progress. 

3.  There  was  no  written  langucuje  of  the  dialects  in  our  mission 
field  until  the  JMpongwe  was  reduced  in  1843  by  Rev.  Messrs.  J. 
L.  Wilson  and  William  Walker.  Other  dialects  have  since  been  , 
written:  the  Benga,  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Mackey,  the  Dikele,  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  Best  and  Preston,  and  the  Fangwe,  by  Rev.  H.  M. 
Adams.  The  structural  difierances  between  these  are  slight; 
the  dissimilarity  is  mostly  in  vocabulary.  They  are  easy  of  ac- 
quisition by  foreigners.  Scores  of  other  dialects  exist,  e.  (/.,  the 
Kombe,  Mbiko,  Orungu,  Nkami,  etc.,  for  writing  which  no  neces- 
sity will  arise,  the  Benga,  ISIpongwe,  and  Fangwe  answering  all 
present  wants. 

The  entire  New  Testament  and  parts  of  the  Old,  with  Hymn- 
book,  Catechism,  Peep  of  Day,  Come  to  Jesus  and  other  small 
books,  are  printed  in  both  Benga  and  Mpongwe.  Our  pupils  are 
required  to  read  with  fluency  their  own  language  first.  Their 
further  education,  for  want  of  other  translated  books,  has  been 
conducted  in  English,  no  missionary  having  had  time  to  devote 
himself  to  that  work  until  the  Rev.  William  Walker,  one  of  our 
founders  and  the  senior  member  of  the  mission,  returned  to 
Africa  in  1881,  after  an  absence  of  nine  years,  under  special  ap- 
j)ointment  for  that  express  purpose.  He  remained  at  Baraka 
until  1883,  when  he  returned  to  this  country,  and  is  engaged  in 
superintending  the  printing  of  the  translations. 

4.  There  is  no  worship  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  word.  The 
natives  have  a  religion,  but  it  is  a  superetition  called  Fetishism. 
As  a  religion,  it  is  not  as  near  a  worship  of  God  as  idolatry  is, 
for  the  idolater  professes  to  worship  God  through  the  symbol  of 
the  idol,  but  the  African  negro,  though  distinctly  admitting  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  being  as  a  creator  and  "father,"  gives  him 
no  worship.  Sacrifices  are  made  of  food,  and  occasionally  of 
blood — sometimes  human — to  spirits,  to  which  prayers  are  regu- 
larly, at  the  new  moons,  made  by  the  village  patriarch  or  his 
d('l»uties,  and  at  other  times  by  any  individual  in  sudden  danger. 
But  the.se  prayers  have  no  confession  of  sin,  no  thanks,  no 
])rai.se;  they  are  only  deprecatory  of  evil.  Fetishism  consists  in 
the  wearing  of  charms  or  amulets  to  aid  in  the  accomplishment 
of  any  given  wish,  or  to  ward  off  the  machinations  of  a  possible 
enemy.   These  charms  may  literally  be  anything, — a  shell,  a  bone, 


THE  MISSIONS    IN   AFRICA.  107 

even  a  rag  that  has  been  consecrated  by  tlie  fetish  doctor,  who 
professes,  with  his  drugs  and  incantations,  to  inject  into  it  a  spirit, 
by  whose  efficiency  (and  not  that  of  the  drugs)  the  sick  are  to  be 
healed,  and  the  hunter,  trader,  warrior,  gardener,  etc.,  etc.,  made 
successful.  Rules  are  also  to  be  obeyed  of  abstaining  from  cer- 
tain kinds  of  food,  refraining  from  touching  certain  articles, 
avoiding  certain  localities,  etc.  These  rules,  the  adjustment  of 
the  charms  on  one's  body,  on  the  houses,  on  the  garden-plants 
and  the  dread  of  malignant  spiritual  influences,  whose  power  is 
thus  to  be  placated,  makes  the  religion  of  the  native  negro  a 
bondage  of  fear. 

6.  Hopeful  Characteristics. 

Work  among  the  natives  is  pleasant  and  hopeftil  because  of — 

1.  Their  receptivity. — In  our  itinerations  and  village  preaching 
they  are  attracted  by  the  singing  of  hymns,  listen  with  curiosity 
and  give  a  prompt  assent  to  the  truth  and  excellence  of  the 
gospel-message,  not  often  disputing,  though  on  familiar  acquaint- 
ance objecting  to  the  practical  application  of  the  decalogue  to 
their  lives  and  customs.  We  are  not  deceived  by  this  ready 
assent.  It  does  not  arise  from  a  welcome  of  the  Saviour,  whose 
name  and  gospel  is  utterly  new  to  them,  but  from  an  absence  of 
any  formulated  system  of  theology.  Having  no  such  system  for 
which  to  fight,  they  accept  our  statements  out  of  a  race-reverence 
and  personal  respect  and  courtesy.  But  access  to  even  this  shal- 
low soil  gives  us  an  opportunity  of  making  those  repeated  efibrts 
that  prepare  the  way  for  its  fertilization. 

2.  Their  hospitality. — Though  unjust  to  strangers  of  other 
tribes  with  whom  they  may  happen  to  have  no  acquaintance  or 
intercourse,  they  are  warm  in  their  welcome  of  acknowledged 
members  of  tribes  or  families  with  whom  they  have  marriage  or 
commercial  relations.  And  they  are  particularly  polite  in  their 
reception  of  all  foreign  visitors,  such  as  traders  and  missionaries. 
When  we  regard  the  claims  for  recognition  of  the  village  chiefe, 
and  formally  make  ourselves  their  guests,  we  are  at  once  accorded 
every  freedom  of  the  town,  to  go  where  and  do  as  we  please  in 
its  huts  and  around  its  fires;  food  is  provided,  the  best  hut 
cleared  for  our  use,  and  our  persons,  boat,  goods  and  crew  per- 
fectly safe.  Admittedly,  this  hospitality  and  honesty  is  but  a 
thin  covering  to  a  wild  nature ;  for,  if  we  independently  encamp 
in  a  forest  near  a  village,  we  may  be  robbed,  and  then  there  is 
no  redress.  But  even  such  hospitality  renders  us  safe;  and  the 
slight  gifts  expected  to  be  made  in  parting  are  no  more  than 
should  be  given  as  fare  for  food  and  lodging  in  a  civilized 
country. 


108  mSTOIMCAL    SKKTfll    OF 

3.  Their  affectioiiaicnes.'^. — Each  inis.<i()nary  on  arrival  is  ad- 
divsscd  with  the  title  of  " father "  or  "mother;"  and  the  ])]easant 
feelinjrs  tliat  soon  irrow  up  between  teacher  and  i)Ui)il  or  employes 
become  strong  and  often  tender.  AVe  are  not  called  by  o])- 
))robrious  names,  nor  looked  npf)n  with  suspicion  or  cold- 
ness. This  is,  in  jreneral,  true  ;  but,  in  connection  w  ith  the 
new  stations  along  the  Ogove,  the  missionaries  have  had  more 
trouble  with  the  fierce  and  war-like  Fanwe  tribe,  who  are  dis- 
posed to  encroach  upon  mission  rights.  Courage  and  prudence 
on  the  part  of  the  occupants  have  so  far,  however,  compelled 
respect.  And  even  these  savage  hearts  will  in  time  yield  to 
gospel  influences. 

4.  llieir  docility. — They  are  obedient  as  children  or  servants. 
We  are  accorded  large  authority,  much  the  same  as  native  chiefs 
have  in  their  villages.  Indeed,  that  was  the  formal  position  that 
was  voted  in  the  council  of  Corisco  chiefs  to  Mr.  jNIackey  and  his 
successors  on  his  location  on  that  island.  The  same  is  more  or 
less  true  in  other  parts  of  our  field,  according  as  the  missionary's 
own  character  is  personally  an  impressive  one.  On  our  own 
premises  we  are  sometimes  as  father  to  children,  teacher  to  pupils, 
master  to  employes,  judge  to  transgressoi^s  and  magistrate  to 
offenders. 

7.  Unfavorable  Points, 

1.  The  anarchy  already  spoken  of  interferes  with  comfort  at 
our  stations.  Unkind  feelings,  engendered  by  Jealousy  or  slander 
or  misunderstanding,  lead  to  petty  outrages,  which,  if  submitted 
to,  o|x;n  the  way  to  greater  and  more  auihicious  acts,  and  yet  for 
■which  no  immediate  redress  can  be  obtained.  How  rightly  to 
deal  in  such  cases  calls  for  patience,  prudence,  decision  and  tact. 

2.  Indolence  is  natural  to  the  people.  Their  wants,  being  few 
of  food  or  clothing,  are  easily  sup})licd  from  the  rivei"s,  their 
women's  farms,  and  from  the  forest.  They  have  no  trades,  and 
but  very  limited  arts  of  rude  house  and  boat-building,  carpenter- 
ing and  blacksmithing.  When  they  profess  Christianity  their 
change  of  heart  has  not  at  once  and  entirely  made  them  diligent 
where  there  is  small  occa.sion  for  diligence ;  and  the  native 
Christian,  left  to  himself,  lives  like  his  heathen  fellows,  excej)ting 
their  vicas.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  teach  them  industries, 
and  stimulate  ambition.  They  are  w'illing,  unlike  some  tribes  of 
southern  Africa,  to  change  their  rude  tools  and  utensils,  readily 
accept  ours,  and  are  ghxd  to  be  taught  carpeuteriug.  This  is  a 
field  in  which  lay  missionaries,  e.  g.  mechanics,  can  be  especially 
useful.  But  no  effort  has  been  made  in  that  line  by  a  skilled 
mechanic.     Attention  ought  to  be  given  to  this. 


THE   MISSIONS    IN    AFRICA.  109 

3.  Slavery  has  probably  existed  as  a  domestic  institution  in 
Africa  as  a  punishment  for  crime,  long  before  it  was  stimulated 
to  the  sei/Aire  of  weaker  neighbors  and  tribes  for  the  supply  of  a 
foreign  market.  The  united  influence  of  the  many  missionary 
societies  that  line  the  coast,  and  the  efforts  of  one  Christian 
nation  after  another,  until  Portugal  a  few  years  ago  finally 
joined  the  phalanx  of  civilization  that  declares  the  foreign  slave- 
trade  a  piracy,  have  broken  up  the  trade  in  Guinea  negroes. 
There  is  now  not  a  single  slave  exported  from  the  entire  west 
coast  of  Africa.  Slaves  still  are  exported  clandestinely  on  the 
east  coast.  But,  though  suppressed  on  the  west  coast,  it  exists 
unrestrained  as  a  domestic  institution,  the  criminal  class  being 
passed  "down  river"  from  the  interior  to  the  coast.  Their 
presence  as  the  labor-class  makes  labor  to  the  native  eye  distaste- 
ful and  dishonorable,  giving  to  the  native  Christian  a  plea  for 
and  temptation  to  idleness. 

4.  Intemperance  is  a  sad  obstacle.  The  natives  have  their  own 
beer,  made  from  over-ripe  plantains  and  bananas,  and  a  sour 
wine  from  the  sap  of  the  oil  and  bamboo  palms.  But  they  learn 
to  like  the  more  intoxicating  qualities  of  our  imported  rum,  gin 
and  whiskey.  These  are  obtained  in  abundance  at  almost  all  the 
English,  Scotch,  German,  and  other  foreign  trading-houses  and 
native  dram-shops  that  are  found  at  the  coast  depots  of  the 
steamers  and  other  vessels  of  commerce  on  the  coast  and  up  the 
rivers.  These  and  kindred  influences  kill,  by  corrupting,  some- 
times almost  the  entire  community  of  native  church-members. 
Were  it  not  for  the  use  of  foreign  liquors  in  a  trade  otherwise 
legitimate  and  commendable,  the  concurrent  testimony  of  our 
own  and  adjacent  missions  is  that  our  native  church  membership, 
now  reckoned  only  by  hundreds,  would  have  been  thousands. 
What  a  record  against  the  Protestant  Christianity  x)f  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  and  America ! 

5.  Polygamy,  with  its  kindred  vices,  is  a  bitter  root,  that  erects 
a  tree  whose  thorny  arms  meet  us  at  every  path.  It  debases 
woman,  disregards  marriage,  destroys  the  family,  and  interferes 
with  our  control  of  female  pupils.  It  makes  marriage  difficult 
for  Christian  young  men  who  desire  to  be  monogamists ;  and,  in- 
wrought into  the  customs  of  society  in  many  unmentionable 
forms,  follows  our  native  members  to  the  door  of  and  even  into 
the  church.  The  debasement  that  it  has  wrought  in  the  minds 
of  the  natives  has  sapped  virtue  and  chastity.  The  delicacy 
known  by  those  names  in  America  is  unknown  among  our  tribes. 
It  is  a  snow-flake  soiled,  a  butterfly's  wing  touched.  And  there 
is  a  sad  fact  in  our  path  that  so  many  white  men,  representatives 
of  civilization,  trading  on  the  coast,  by  adopting  polygamy  and 


110  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

encouraging  kintlrod  vices,  while  they  deprive  lust  of  none  of  its 
evils,  give  it  a  tlignity  that  even  heathenism  did  not  claim  for  it. 

8.  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Stations. 

1.  The  Gaboon  district  was  occupied  by  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  at  liaraka  station,  on 
"the  (Jaboou,"  an  estuary  or  inlet  of  the  ocean,  twelve  miles 
from  its  mouth,  and  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  equator,  on  June 
"22,  1842.  This  was  really  a  transfer  of  a  mission  which  had 
been  begun  eight  years  before  at  Cape  Palmas.  Salient  names 
in  the  history  of  Gaboon  are  those  of  Wilson,  Walker,  and  Bush- 
nell,  these  three  lives  and  those  of  their  wives  covering  the 
thirty-nine  years  from  1842  to  1881.  Associated  with  them  are 
the  nan)es  of  Griswold,  White,  Porter,  Preston,  liest,  Ford, 
Pierce,  Ilerrick,  Adams,  Jack,  St.  John,  Beading,  Marling, 
Murphy,  and  a  few  others  of  short  residence.  Bev.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
J.  L.  Wilson,  Bev.  Benj.  and  Mrs.  Griswold,  and  Bev.  William 
Walker,  were  the  founders. 

Ml*.  Griswold's  name  is  connected  with  a  second  station,  Oz- 
yunga,  two  milts  distant  from  Baraka,  which  was  finally  jierma- 
nently  abandoned ;  Bev.  Ira  jNI.  and  Mrs.  Preston's  name  with  a 
third  station,  Olendebnek,  twenty-five  miles  up  the  estuary  from 
Baraka,  which  also,  because  of  tribal  wai-s  and  other  causes,  was 
])ermanently  abandoned  ;  the  names  of  Bevs.  E.  J.  Pierce,  II.  P. 
Herrick,  and  H.  M.  Adams,  with  Nengcnenge,  sixty  miles  up 
the  estuary,  which,  .after  being  abandoned  for  twenty  years  be- 
cause of  its  unhealthfulness,  was  resumed  in  1881,  but,  having 
been  destroyed  by  a  French  gunboat  not  long  after,  a  new  station 
was  opened  at  Angom      Nengenenge  is  still  an  out-station. 

In  1843  intrigues  were  begun  which,  in  1844,  resulted  in  the 
possession  of  that  part  of  the  coast  by  the  government  of  France. 
Successes  and  native  conversions  in  1849  aroused  heathen  oppo- 
sition and  actual  i)ersecution  of  native  Christians. 

Bev.  Messrs.  Preston  and  Best  prepared  a  grammar  and  part 
of  the  Gospels  in  the  Dikele  dialect.  Henry  A.  Ford,  M.  D., 
was  a  skillful  ])liysician,  and  wrote  a  monograph  on  African 
fevers,  which  is  a  standard  for  reference  ou  that  subject.  The 
names  of  Mrs.  Walker,  Mrs.  Preston,  and  Mrs.  Bushnell  are 
es])ecially  connected  with  the  Baraka  girls'  school.  Scanty 
reinforcements  and  frecpient  returns  of  those  who  were  unfitted 
by  climate  or  other  cfllTses  for  the^voric  left  (Jaboon  in  1870  with 
only  one  station.  In  April,  1871,  its  last  membei*s  being  all 
absent  for  health,  that  station,  Baraka,  was  carried  on  by  mem- 
bers of  the  adjacent  Corisco  mission,  with  which  it  had  just  been 


THE    MISSIONS   IN    AFRICA.  Ill 

organically  united  by  our  Presbyterian  Board,  the  American 
]5oard  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  in  view  of  its 
small  success,  having  several  times  been  on  the  point  of  abandon- 
ing it.  Then  began  brighter  days.  Baraka  has  been  strength- 
ened in  number  of  workers ;  its  work  has  grown,  the  church  and 
schools  have  increased. 

The  distinctive  importance  of  Gaboon  parish  is  geographical 
and  financial.  Baraka  is  the  depot  of  steamers ;  there  are  kept 
our  supplies  ;  it  is  our  post-office,  and,  being  central,  most  of  our 
mission  and  Presbytery  meetings  are  held  there.  Since  the 
schools  have  been  closed,  on  account  of  the  French  restrictive 
orders,  Baraka  has  lost  much  of  its  importance  to  the  mission, 
but  it  will  still  be  used  as  a  landing-place  fur  reaching  other 
stations,  and  for  such  mission  labor  among  the  people  as  can  be 
done. 

2.  The  Corisco  district  was  occupied  as  a  distinct  mission  by 
our  Presbyterian  Board  in  1850.  Corisco  is  a  beautiful  island,  a 
perfect  microcosm,  five  miles  long  and  three  miles  wide,  fifty-five 
miles  noi'th  of  the  equator,  and  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  from  the 
mainland  of  Corisco  bay.  The  dialect  is  the  Benga.  Salient 
names  are  Rev.  J.  L.  and  Mrs.  Mackey,  Rev.  C.  and  Mrs.  De 
Heer,  and  Rev.  Ibia  J'IkCngS,  whose  lives  cover  the  thirty-one 
years  from  1850  to  1881.  Associated  with  them  are  the  names 
of  Simpson,  Clemens,  McQueen,  Williams,  Ogden,  Loomis, 
Clark,  Nassau,  Paull,  Reutlinger,  Menaul,  Gillespie,  and  others 
of  shorter  residence. 

Messrs.  Mackey  and  Simpson  were  the  founders  of  the  first 
Corisco  station  at  Evangasimba,  where  the  former  left  his  im- 
press on  the  natives  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  uncom- 
monly good  judgment  and  tact.  A  second  station,  Ugobi,  two 
miles  south  of  Evangasimba,  was  soon  commenced,  where  Rev. 
G.  and  Mrs.  Georgiana  (Bliss)  McQueen  are  remembered  as 
careful  trainers  and  educators,  their  pupils  being  noted  as  excel- 
lent interpreters  and  English  speakers.  The  Presbytery  of 
Corisco,  formed  about  1859,  now  supervises  all  the  churches  em- 
braced in  our  mission-field.  It  is  attached  to  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey.  A  third  station,  Elongo,  three  miles  north  of  Evanga- 
simba, was  erected,  where  Rev.  William  and  Mrs.  Clemens  were 
known  for  their  labor  for  pupils  from  the  mainland,  whither  Mr. 
C.  made  numerous  and  long  boat-journeys 

A  fourth  station,  Maluku,  was  located  near  Evangasimba, 
where  lived  the  careful  translator  and  conscientious  pastor.  Rev. 
T.  S.  Ogden.  To  the  care  of  himself  and  Mrs.  Ogden  was  trans- 
ferred Mrs.  Mackey 's  flourishing  girls'  school,  which  afterwards 
passed   successively  into   the   hands   of  Mrs.  Maria   (Jackson) 


112  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

Clark  and  Mrs.  Mary  (Latta)  Nassau.  Tliis  school  was  finally 
transferred  to  Elongo,  under  the  care  of  Kev.  C.  and  Mrs.  De 
Hecr  and  Mrs.  Keutlinjrer,  on  the  occasion  of  the  removal  of 
Maluku  (and  eventually  of  l^van<,'asiniba)  to  the  niaiidand  at 
the  IJenita  river.  Ugohi  had  ])reviou.«<ly  been  consolidated  with 
Elongo,  the  four  Corisco  stations  being  thus  reduced  to  one. 
Corisco  had  been  selected  as  a  mission  basis  under  two  beliefs — 

(1)  that  its  insular  position  would  assure  exemption  from  fever  ; 

(2)  that  missionary  efloit  should  be  s])ent  in  carefully  educating 
natives,  who  would  then  undertake  the  danger  and  exposure  of 
carrying  the  go.spel  to  the  distant  regions.  Both  of  these  were 
unrealized.  The  island  was  found  to  be  quite  as  feverish  as  the 
mainland ;  the  continement  of  teaching  was  less  healthful  than 
the  exercise  of  travel,  even  associated  with  exposure  ;  and  the 
chronic  tribal  quarrels  made  it  impossible  for  our  native  agents 
to  go  any  great  distance  from  their  own  tribe.  It  was  found  that 
we  could  travel  with  advantage  to  our  own  health  and  with  more 
safety  from  the  hands  of  rude  distant  tribes  than  our  native 
Christians  could.  It  was  therefore  not  discouragement  or  weak- 
ness that  reduced  the  four  Corisco  stations  to  the  present  single 
one  at  Elongo. 

The  distinctive  importance  of  Corisco  is  as  a  field  for  encour- 
aging native  self-support  and  self-reliance,  the  entire  care  of  the 
district,  church,  school,  etc.,  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
native  ordained  minister.  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Ibia.  That  his  efforts  have 
not  been  as  promptly  successful  as  he  or  we  could  wish  is  due 
j)artly  to  many  of  the  natives,  like  pampered  babes,  resenting 
the  withdrawal  of  our  white  foreign  aid,  and  therefore  not 
responding  to  his  efforts.  Also,  due  to  the  divisive  op})osition  of 
a  (ierman  minister,  who,  dismissed  by  the  Board,  returned  as  an 
independent  missionary,  with  schismatic  operations  of  an  insane 
character.  Nevertheless,  out  of  the  ruin  tliat  has  thus  been 
burnt  over,  Mr.  Ibia's  energy  may  be  able  to  conserve  and  build 
up  what  is  good. 

8.  The  Beuita  district  was  occupied  in  January,  18(55,  at 
^Mbiide,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Benita  river,  110  miles  north  of  the 
equator.     The  dialect  is  the  Kombe. 

(Salient  names  are  Kev.  George  Paull,  Kev.  R.  II.  and  Mrs. 
Nassau,  Kev.  S.  H.  and  Mi's.  Murphy,  Miss  Isabella  A.  Nassau, 
and  Kev.  C.  and  Mrs.  De  Ileer,  whose  lives  cover  the  twenty 
years  from  18(55  to  1885.  Associated  with  them  are  the  names 
of  Keutlinger,  Kops,  Schorsch,  Menkel,  Gault,  and  Mi.sses  Jones 
and  Dewsnap  ^  Kev.  George  Paull,  the  founder  of  Mbude 
station,  was  a  most  noble  character,  with  a  rare  combiiuition  of 
strength  and  aniiability,  of  apostolic  labor  and  deep  sj)irituality. 


THE   MISSIONS    IN    AFRICA.  113 

His  zeal  consumed  him.  He  lived  in  Africa  but  thirteen  months, 
only  three  of  which  were  spent  at  Benita.  His  work  was  carried 
on  and  enlarged  by  his  immediate  successors,  Rev.  Messrs. 
Nassau  and  Murphy.  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Nassau,  with  a  spirit  like 
that  of  George  PauU,  left  a  deep  impress  on  the  hearts  of  the 
heathen,  and  her  hymn-book  is  ever  on  the  lips  of  the  native 
church.  Mr.  Murphy's  energy  called  out  the  self-reliance  of  the 
native  Christians.  With  his  aid  they  broke  the  power  of  Ukuku 
Society,  a  most  oppressive  superstition,  that  held  no  native  life 
of  worth  against  its  arbitrary  orders,  and  that  subjected  even  the 
lives  of  foreigners  to  frequent  annoyance  and  actual  danger.  In 
1869  a  second  station  was  built  at  Bolondo,  two  miles  from 
Mbiide,  in  the  mouth  of  the  river.  In  that  year  also  Mr.  Reut- 
linger  made  an  attempt  to  penetrate  the  interior  by  way  of  the 
Benita  river,  and  partly  overcame  the  opposition  of  the  coast 
jealousy,  only  to  succumb  to  an  attack  of  erysipelas. 

Rev.  J.  De  B.  Kops,  during  his  short  stay  in  1872,  made  a 
favorable  impression  as  a  thorough  teacher  and  trainer  of  the 
advanced  class  of  the  Bolondo  boys'  school.  After  his  return  to 
America  that  school-station,  and,  indeed,  much  of  the  entire 
Benita  work,  ecclesiastical,  educational,  and  financial,  was  carried 
on  for  several  years  by  Miss  I.  A.  Nassau,  aided  successively  by 
Mr.  Menkel,  Miss  Jones,  Miss  Dewsnap,  and  a  native  minister. 
Relief  has  since  come  by  the  efficient  hands  of  Rev.  C.  and  Mrs. 
De  Heer  and  Mrs.  Reutlinger,  also  of  Rev.  W.  C.  Gault  and 
wife. 

Mr.  P.  Menkel,  a  lay-missionary,  has  made  himself  useful  as  a 
Christian  mechanic  in  erecting  mission-houses  and  churches,  and 
in  the  captaincy  of  the  mission  schooner. 

The  distinctive  importance  of  Benita  is  the  industry  of  its 
people  and  the  missionary  character  of  the  native  church.  The 
Pauline  fervor  of  George  Paull  flows  on  in  the  life  of  the  Benita 
church ;  its  members  carry  on  five  out-mission  posts  in  their  own 
district ;  have  furnished  from  their  number  efficient  elders  for 
the  Corisco  and  Gaboon  churches ;  volunteered  the  first  native 
assistants  for  the  advance  up  the  Ogove,  and  from  it  came  all  the 
three  present  licentiates  of  our  Presbytery. 

4.  The  Ogove  district  was  occupied  in  1874,  sixty  miles  south 
of  the  equator,  at  Belambila,  in  the  Ogove  river,  200  miles  up 
its  course,  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Nassau.  In  1876  the  station  was  re- 
moved down  river  to  Kangwe  Hill,  at  a  point  165  miles  up  the 
river's  course  (but  only  ninety  miles  direct  from  the  sea).  In 
1877  Miss  Nassau  was  transferred  from  Bolondo  to  Kdngwe; 
and  since  then  have  been  added  H.  M.  Bacheler,  M.D.,  and  Mrs. 
Bacheler,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Smith,  Miss  Dewsnap,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


114  HISTORICAL   SKKTCII    OF 

.1.  11.  Kciidiiit,'.  Miss  Dowsnap  (liod  in  18.S1.  The  others  nuii- 
tidiu'd  iiave  been  obliged  to  return  home  from  considerations  of 
health. 

The  lati'r  occupants  of  Kanpve  station  arc  Kev.  jNIessrs.  W. 
II.  Robinson  and  A.  C.  CJood,  with  their  wives,  and  Miss  Mary  L. 
Ilardinif. 

Its  location  was  in  the  consistent  pursuance  of  what  has  l)een 
ever  the  objective  jjoint  of  the  mission,  the  interior.  The 
failure  to  find  a  path  via  either  the  Gaboon,  the  Muni  (at  Coris- 
co),  or  the  Benita,  led  to  the  attempt  of  the  Ogove,  whose  en- 
trance had  recently  been  forced  by  trading  steamers.  This  at- 
temjjt  was  stimulated  by  the  very  general  feeling  in  the  home 
churclies  that,  retaining  in  their  integrity  the  three  coast  stations, 
our  duty  was  unfulfilled  unless  an  immediate  advance  was  made 
interiorward.     It  has  been  successful  to  our  best  exj)ectations. 

In  1S7()  Count  Pierre  Havorgnan  di  Brazza,  an  Italian  gentle- 
man, lieutenant  in  the  French  navy,  accompanied  by  MM. 
Marche  and  J^allay,  carefully  explored  and  surveyed  for  two 
yeare  the  Ogove  to  it«  sources.  Near  those  sources  he  found  in 
1878  other  streams,  flowing  south  and  east.  On  a  second  journey 
he  descended  one  of  those  streams,  the  Alima,  and  found  that  it 
flows  into  the  great  Kongo-Livingstone  river,  near  Stanley  Fool, 
thus  proving  a  practicable  route  for  our  advance.  The  only 
progress  thus  far  made,  however,  has  been  in  the  founding  of  a 
new  station  by  Dr.  Nassau  at  Talaguga,  fifty  miles  above  Kangwe, 
in  1882,  which  was  at  first  occupied  by  himself  and  his  wife, 
Mrs.  Mary  (Foster)  Nassau,  whose  lamented  death  i\\  1884  led 
to  the  transfer  of  Miss  I.  A.  Nassau  to  that  station  from  Kangwe. 

9.  Successes  of  Schools  and  Churches. 

On  Corisco  is  a  church,  organized  in  October,  1856,  and  now- 
consisting  of  seventy-one  members;  a  boys'  and  girls'  school,  and 
two  out-stations  where  native  Christian  Bible-readers  do  work  as 
exhorters  and  day-school  teachers. 

At  Benita  is  a  church,  organized  in  I)eceml)er,  1805,  and  now 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  members;  the  Ba- 
taiiga  church,  organized  in  April,  1878,  and  now  consisting  of 
ninety-one  members;  the  Evunf,  of  seventy-six  members;  the 
liata,  of  forty-two  members ;  two  stations,  Bolondo  and  Mbade, 
and  a  boys'  and  girls'  school ;  also  six  out-stations,  employing 
ten  Bible-readers. 

At  (iaboon  is  a  church  existing  from  1843  as  a  Congregational 
society,  but  in  1871  reorganized  and  received  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Corisco,  and  containing  forty  members;  two  stations,  Baraka 


TIIK    MISSIONS   IN    AFRICA.  115 

aiul  An<r()iu;  a  large  girls'  school,  a  boys'  school,  one  out-statiou 
on  the  Kenibwe  river,  and  the  sub-station  Nengencnge. 

On  the  Ogove  is  a  church,  organized  November,  1879,  now  with 
thirty -three  members;  one  station — Kungwe — with  an  admirably- 
conducted  boys'  and  girls'  school ;  and  two  out-stations. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  the  French  authorities  have,  by 
order,  restricted  the  teaching  in  the  schools,  in  the  Gaboon  and 
Ogove  districts,  to  the  use  of  the  French  language,  which  unfair 
proceeding  has  compelled  their  closing.  It  is  hoped,  however, 
that  this  restriction  will  be  removed. 

10.  Encouragement. 

Besides  the  schools  and  churches  just  enumerated,  great  encour- 
agement is  found — 1.  In  the  constant  change  of  customs:  e.g.,  (1) 
witchcraft  murders  are  less  frequent;  (2)  houses  and  dress  are 
more  civilized.  2.  Education  is  so  sought  for  its  own  sake  that 
some  natives  (particularly  at  Kangwe)  are  paying  for  it.  3.  In- 
crease of  interest  in  civilization  by  the  natives  through  the  entire 
mission-field.  4.  The  opened  door  to  the  interior.  5.  Freedom 
for  Avoman's  work,  there  being  nothing  in  the  native  ideas  or 
customs  to  prevent  a  woman  doing  all  that  her  time,  capability 
and  strength  may  suggest  in  either  village  itineration,  teaching 
of  girls  and  women,  or  higher  education  of  men.  6.  The  rapid 
increase  in  native  licentiates  and  candidates  for  the  ministry, 
making  a  stride  to  the  necessary  end  of  our  work,  i.  e.,  its  as- 
sumption by  native  brethren.  7.  A  disposition  to  self-support, 
as  shown  by  the  remarkable  movement  of  the  Batanga  jDCople  in 
building  school-houses  and  a  church  with  very  little  aid  from  the 
mission.  8.  A  general  increase  of  respect  for  law — a  remarka- 
ble instance  of  which  is  a  commendable  attempt  of  the  Benita 
people  to  remedy  the  evils  of  the  prevalent  anarchy  by  setting  up 
a  government  modelled  on  a  limited  monarchy,  which,  though 
imperfect,  showed  that  the  gospel  had  made  an  attempt  toward 
civilization  possible,  and  which,  though  weak,  is  better  than  no- 
thing. 9.  The  interest,  dating  from  Livingstone's  death,  in  1873, 
and  Stanley's  revelation  of  the  Congo  in  1877,  with  which  the 
entire  world,  through  the  eye  of  Commerce,  Science,  Philanthro- 
py and  Religion,  is  turned  to  Africa.  This  is  particularly  so  in 
the  region  of  the  Gaboon  and  Corisco  mission,  since  the  Ogove  is 
proving  to  be  an  important  river.  Count  de  Brazza,  a  French 
officer,  has  explored  the  Ogove  with  the  intention  of  opening  it 
to  trade,  as  Stanley  has  opened  the  Congo-Livingston,  but  has 
been  only  partially  successful.  The  latter,  with  a  generously 
equipped  party  of  Europeans  and  Africans,  has  made  a  way  by 


116  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

steamer  and  roads  far  into  the  interior  and  has  established  settle- 
ments along  the  route,  thus  making  possible  the  erection  of  the 
"  Congo  Free  State,"  which,  embracing  about  50,()O(),0U()  inhab- 
itants, lias  now  been  secured  to  civilization  and  mission  ettbrt  by 
the  protection  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe. 


III.    CLIMATE  AND  ILL  HEALTH. 

In  regard  to  the  dread  that  is  largely  felt  towards  missions 
in  Africa,  so  often  called  the  "  white  man's  grave,"  it  is  just 
to  say  : 

1.  In  so  large  a  country  as  Africa,  what  might  be  true  of  one 
part  would  not  necessarily  be  true  of  another  given  part. 
Statements  are  made  as  incorrectly  on  the  point  of  health  as 
they  are  on  the  point  of  heat.  The  average  of  heat  during  the 
year  in  the  Gaboon  and  Corisco  mission  is  80°  of  Fahrenheit, 
and  it  never  reaches  above  98°  in  the  shade.  AVith  the  excep- 
tion of  the  months  of  February  and  March,  the  nights  are  com- 
fortably cool ;  and  June,  July  and  August  require  coverings 
with  blankets. 

2.  Admittedly,  there  has  been  great  loss  of  white  life  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa. 

3.  This  has  been  largely  of  sailors  and  others  engaged  in  com- 
merce, many  of  whom  live  lives  whose  outrjigeous  character, 
moral  or  hygienic,  gives  reason  other  than  the  climate  for  their 
deaths.  And  the  fact  of  those  unexplained  deaths  has  operated 
unjustly  against  the  country's  reputation. 

4.  Certain  parts,  e.  g.,  Sierra  Leone  and  also  the  Upper 
Guinea  coast,  admittedly  have  been  severe  on  even  missionary 
life. 

5.  As  the  equator  is  approached,  and  the  south  of  the  equa- 
tor, health  improves.  The  mortality  in  the  Gaboon  and  Corisco 
mission  has,  therefore,  been  less  than  at  Liberia  and  other  points 
north. 

6.  The  regrettedly  numerous  returns  from  the  Gaboon  and 
Corisco  mission  are  not  all  due  to  ill  health.  Unfitness  for  the 
work,  incompatibility  and  difficulty  about  the  support  of  chil- 
dren are  frequent  causes. 

7.  Mental  depression,  due  to  the  exceptionally  painful  social 
and  moral  isolations  of  African  missions,  made  a  soil  in  the  phy- 
sical state  in  which  fever-seeds,  not  otherwise  dangerous,  became 


THK   MISSIONS    IN    AFRICA. 


117 


fatal.  Positively,  some  of  the  earlier  deaths  were  induced  by  an 
intense  homesickness.  The  same  thing  has  been  observed  by 
army  surgeons  in  America. 

8.  All  these  causes  operate  less  now  than  formerly.  It  is 
known  better  how  to  take  care  of  health.  Profit  is  made  by  the 
experience  of  others.  Food  supplies  are  better.  Household  ar- 
rangements are  more  healthful.  Fretjuent  mail  communications 
and  the  fresh,  earnest  support  and  practical  sympathy,  especially 
of  the  woman's  foreign  missionary  societies,  have  bridged  over 
the  long  distance  between  Africa  and  home-love,  and  made  less 
painful  and  less  depressing  the  isolations  which  are  distinctive  of 
an  African  missionary's  life.  The  present  good  health  of  the 
membei-s  of  the  Gaboon  and  Corisco  mission,  and  the  length  of 
residence  there  of  seven  of  its  membere  (four  of  whom  are 
women),  ranging  from  thirty-nine  to  twelve  years,  are  proof  that 
life  there  is  not  only  possible,  but  even  healthful. 

9.  When  all  African  missionaries,  not  only  male  but  female, 
shall  be  given  a  medical  education  sufficient  to  make  them  practi- 
cally watchful  of  hygienic  duty,  a  visit  to  Africa  will  no  longer 
be  dreaded,  and  the  malarial  diseases  incident  to  the  pioneer 
opening  to  all  new  countries  will  largely  disappear. 


Missionaries  in  Western  Africa,  1833-1886. 

*Died.    fColored.     J  Transferred  from  American  Board.      Figures,  Term  of  Service 

in  the  Field. 


Liberia. 


*A1  ward,  Rev.  Jonathan  P., 
Alward,  Mrs., 
*Amos,  Rev.  James  R.,t 
•Amos,  Rev.  Thomas  H.,t 
*Barr,  Rev.  Joseph, 
Blyden,    Rev.    E.    W.,t 

1857-1861 
Blyden,  Mrs.,t 
*Boeklen,  Rev.  Edward, 
Brown,  Mr.  H.  D., 
*Canfield,  Rev.  Oren  K., 
Canfield,  Mrs., 
«Cloud,  Rev.  John, 
Coke,  Miss  Louisa, f 
Connelly,  Rev.  J.  M., 
®Deputie,  Rev.  J.  M.,t 


1839-1841 
1840-1841 
18.59-1864 
1859-1869 
1832. 

;  187.3-78. 

1873-1878 

1866-1868 

1882- 

1839-1842 

1840-1842 

1833. 

1847-1848 

1844-1849 

1869-1877 


Deputie,  Mrs.,t  1869- 

Deputie,  Rev.  R.  A.  M.,  1870- 

Diggs,  Mrs.  E.  A.,t  1878-1881 

«Dillon,  Rev.  T.  E.,t  1865-1879 

Dillon,  Mrs.,t  1865-1879 

»Donne]l,  Rev.  D.  L.,t  1878-1879 
Donnell,Mrs.(^rrs.l)avid)t  1880-1881 

■«Eden,  Rev.  Jaines,t  1843-1847 

Ellis,  Rev.  H.  W.,t  1846-1851 

•Erskine,  Rev.  II.  W.,t  1848-1876 

Ethrige,  Mrs.  R.  A.,  1882- 

*Ferguson,  Mr.  D.  C.,t  1863-1873 

»Finley,  Mr.  F.  J.  C,  1834-1835 
Flournov,  P.,|            1871-1876  ;  1882 

Frazier,  Rev.  D.  R.,  1883- 

*Harrison,  Rev.  Simon,t  1854-1872 


118 


IIISTOUICAL   SKETCH   OF 


Harrison,  Mr9.,t  1854-1872 

«llerriiig,  Ilev.  Amoa.f  1854-1873 

Ilerrini;,  MrR.,t  1854-1873 

♦James,  Mr.  V.  B.  R.,  1849-1868 

Jones,  Mrs.  M.,t  1880-1885 

Kennedy,  Uev.  Z.,t  1878-1882 

Keniieilv,  Mrs.,t  1878. 

King,  .Mr.  A.f  1870- 

King,  Mrs.,t  1870- 

♦Laird,  Kev.  M.,  1833-1834 

Laird,  Mrs.,  1833-1834 

♦McDonogh,  Mr.  W.,t  1842-1871 

♦Melville,  Mr.  F.  A.,t  1856-1868 

•Miller,  Rev.  Abraham,!  1859-1865 
Nurse.  Mrs.  S.  E.  (Mrs. 

Waters,  1S76-),  18— 

Parsons,  Mrs.  Marj'  E.,t  1855. 
Pinney.Rev.  J.  B.,  1832-35;  1839-1840 


•Priest,  Rev.  James  M.,t  1843-1883 

•Priest,  Mrs.,t  1843-1880 

•Priest,  Mr.  J.  R.,t  1879-1880 

Priest,  Mrs.,t  1879-1882 

•Sawyer,  Rev.  Robert  W.,  1840-1843 

Sawyer,  Mrs.,  1841-1849 

Sevier,  Rev.  S.  S.,  1884- 

•Strobel,  MissC,  1850-1866 

Temple,  Mr.  James.f  1833-1834 

Tytler,  Mr.  Ephraim,  1837-1839 

Van  Tvne,  Miss  C,  1841-1844 

White,"  Mr.  J.,  1855. 

White,  Mrs.,  1855. 

•Williams,  Rev.  E.  T.,  1856-1860 

Wilson,  Rev.  David  A.,  1850-1858 

Wilson,  Mrs.,  1850-1858 

•Wilson,  Rev.  Thoma.s,t  1843-1846 
Witherspoon,  Mr.  M.  M.,t  1862-1863 


Gaboon  and  Cokisco. 


Bacheler,  H.  M,  (M.D),  1879-1883 

Bacheler,  Mrs.,  1879-1883 

•Houghton,  Miss  S.  J.,  1871-1873 

•tBushell,  Rev.  Albert,  1844-1879 

JBushnell,  Mrs.,  1852-1885 

Campbell,  Rev.  G.  C,  1880- 

Campbell,  Mrs.,  1880- 

Clark,  Rev.  W.  II.,  1861-1869 
Clark,  Mrs.  (Miss  M.  M. 

Jackson,  18.58-).  1861-1869 

•Clemens,  Rev.  William,  1853-1862 

•Clemens,  Mrs.,  1853-1866 

De  Ileer,  Rev.  Cornelius,  1855- 

De  Heer,  Mrs.,  1864- 

•De  Heer,  Mrs.,  1855-1857 

•Dewsnap,  MissS.,  1875-1881 

Gault,  Rev.  W.  C,  1881- 

Gault,  Mrs.,  1881- 

Gillespie,  Rev.  S.  L.,  1871-1874 
Gillespie,  Mrs.  (Miss  M.  B. 

White),  1873-1874 

Good,  Rev.  A.  C,  1882- 
Good,    Mrs.    (Miss   L.   B. 

Walker,  1877-),  1883- 

Harding,  Miss  M.  S.,t  1882- 

Hendricks,  Mrs  S.  E.,  1873-1874 

Jones,  Miss  Lydia  1872- 

Kaufman,  Miss  C,  1855-1858 

Kops,  Rev.  J.  C.  de  B.,  1871-1873 

K(.ps,  Mrs.,  1871-1873 

Loomis,  Rev.  C.  (M.D.),  1859-1861 

•Loomis,  Mrs.,  1859-1861 

•.Mackey,  Rev.  James  L.,  1849-1867 

•Mackey,  Mrs.,  1849-1850 

Mackey,  Mrs.  Isabel  1851-1867 


•McQueen,  Rev.  George,  1852-1859 
McQueen,  Mrs.,  1854-1865 

Marling,  Rev.  A.  W.,  1880- 

Marling,    Mrs.    (Miss    J. 

Cameron,  1879-),  1881- 

Menaul,  Rev.  John,  1868-1870 

•Menaul,  Mrs.,  1868-1870 

Menkel,  P.,  1873- 

•Menkel,  Mrs.,  1875- 

Murphy,  Rev.  S.  H., 

1871-74 ;  1877-80 
Murphy,  Mrs.,  1871-1874 

Nassau,  Rev.  R.  II.  (M.D.),  1861- 
*Nassau,  ^Irs.  (Miss  M.  C. 

Latta,  1860),  1862-1870 

•Nassau,  Mrs.  Mary  F.,       1881-1884 
Nassau,  Miss  Isabella  A.,    1868- 
•Ogden,  Rev.  Thomas  S.,    1858-1861 
Ogden,  Mrs.,  1858-1861 ;  1882- 

•Paull,  Rev.  George,  1863-1865 

Reading,Mr.  J.  H., 1875-77;  1880-1886 
Reading,  Mrs.,  1875-77;  1880-1886 
•Reutlinger,  Rev.  S.,  1866-1869 

Reutlinger,  Mrs.  Louise,     1866- 
Robinson,  Mrs.  1884- 

Robinson,  Rev.  W.  H.,        1881- 
Schorsch,  Rev.  W.,  1873-1876 

«Simpson,  G.  W.,  1849. 

•Simpson,  Mrs.,  1849. 

•Smith,  Mrs.  J.  M.  (Miss  J. 

M.  Lush,  1873-I.S76),  1876-1881 
Taylor,  G.W.  (M.D.),  1873-1874 
Walker,  Rev.  W.,  1879-1884 

Williams,  Rev.  E.  T.,  1853-1854 

«\Villiams,  Mrs.,  1853-1855 


the  missions  in  africa.  119 

Books  of  Reference. 

The  Heart  of  Africa.     Dr.  Schweinfurth. 

Livingstone's  Last  Journal.     $'2.50. 

South  Africa  Missionary  Travels.     Rev.  Dr.  Livingstone. 

Life's  Labors  in  South  Africa.     Robert  Moft'at.     75  cents. 

Through  the  Dark  Continent.     H.  M.  Stanley.     $10.00. 

Zulu  Land.     Rev.  Lewis  Grout.     .$1.50. 

Expedition  to  the  Zambesi  and  its  Tributaries.     Rev.  Dr.  Livingstone. 

Western  Africa.     J.  Leighton  Wilson,  D.D.    $1.25. 

Four  Years  in  Ashantee.     Raraseyer  and  Kahne.    $1.75. 

Gaboon  Stories.     Mrs.  S.  J.  Preston.     80  cents. 

George  Paull,  of  Benita.    Samuel  Wilson,  D.D.    $1.10. 

Story  of  Madagascar.     John  M.  Mears,  D.D.    $1.25. 

Martyr  Church  of  Madagascar.    Rev.  W.  Ellis.    $1.50. 

Africa  from  Herodotus  to  Livingstone.     $5.00. 

Crowned  in  Palm  Land.     Rev.  R.  H.  Nassau,  M.D.    $1.00. 

Congo  Free  State.     H.  M.  Stanley.     $10.00. 

The  River  Congo.     H.  H.  Johnston. 

The  Soudan.     Dr.  Williams. 


MISSIONARIES  IN  WESTERN  AFRICA— 1886. 

LIBERIA  MISSION. 

Monrovia  :  Rev.  S.  S.  Sevier. 

Clay  Ashland  :  Rev.  Philip  F.  Flournoy ;  Mr.  Albert  King; 
Mrs.  Rachel  A.  Ethridge. 

Marshall  :  Rev.  R.  A.  M.  Deputie. 

New  Toms,  near  Farmington  River:  Rev.  Robert  A.  M. 
Deputie. 

Greenville:  Rev.  David  R.  Frazier. 

SiNOE :  Rev.  David  R.  Frazier. 

GiBEAH,  on  the  Farmington  River ;  Mrs.  Sophia  E.  Nurse. 

Brewersville  : 

Schiefflin:  Mr.  R.  F.  Deputie. 

GABOON    AND    CORISCO   MISSION. 

Benita:  on  the  mainland,  fifty-three  miles  north  of  Corisco; 
occupied  as  a  Mission  station,  1864  ;  Rev.  Cornelius  Do  Heer 
and  his  wife,  Rev.  William  C.  Giiult  and  his  wife ;  Mrs.  Louise 
Reutlinger.  Out-stations — Batanga,  Evune,  Bata,  etc. ;  one  na- 
tive minister,  seven  native  assistants. 

CoRisco :  fifty-five  miles  north  of  the  equator  and  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  miles  from  the  mainland.     Alongo:   occupied    as   a 


120  III.STOKK'AL    SKETCH    OF   TIIK    MISSIONS    IN    AFRICA. 

station,  1850;  Rev.  Ibia  J'Ucenje;  one  native  licentiate  preacher. 
Out-station  at  Mbiko,  on  the  mainland  ol)po!^ite  Corisco ;  three 
native  assistants. 

Gaboon:  Baraha,  on  tlie  (ial)oon  River,  near  the  equator,  ten 
miles  from  the  sea;  occupied  as  a  ^lission  station,  1842;  trans- 
ferred to  the  Board,  1870;  Rev.  Graham  C.  Campbell  and  his 
Avife;  Mi's.  Thomas  E.  Oj^^den,  jMi.-^s  Lydia  Jones  and  Mr.  Peter 
Menkel.  Out-station  at  Rembuoe,  on  the  Gabt)on  River :  Rev. 
Niaka    Truman. 

Ne.vu  Nen(;enenge:  seventy  miles  up  the  Gaboon  River; 
at  Angom:  occupied  as  a  station,  1881  ;  Rev.  Arthur  W.  Mar- 
lin«r  and  his  wife.  At  Nengenenge,  out-station:  one  native  teacher. 
At  Munda:  one  native  assistant. 

Kangwe:  on  the  Ogove  River,  165  miles  from  the  sea  by  the 
river,  or  00  miles  direct ;  occupied  as  a  JNIission  .station,  1876; 
Rev.  Messrs.  AVilliam  H  Robinson  and  Adolphus  C.  Good  and 
their  wives ;  Miss  Mary  L.  Hardinj; ;  one  native  licentiate 
preacher ;  two  other  native  helpers.  Out-staiions  on  the  river,  at 
Belambila,  etc. 

TAL.\(iUGA:  on  the  Ogove  River,  fifty  miles  above  Kangwe; 
occupied  as  a  Mission  station,  1882;  Rev.  Robert  H.  Nassau, 
M.D. ;  Miss  Isabella  A.  Nassau. 


Ifina. 


BY. 


Rev.  WILLIAM  A.  HOLLIDAY,  D.  D. 


SYRIA  &  GALILEE 


THE  SYRIAN  MISSION 


THE   LAND. 


Syria  is  that  Asiatic  country  at  the  eastern  end  of  tlie  Medi- 
terranean. On  the  north  it  runs  up  to  the  Taurus  mountains. 
On  the  east  it  stretches  away  to  the  Euphrates  and  the  Arabian 
desert.  On  the  south  lies  Arabia.*  The  total  length  from  north 
to  south  is  some  four  hundred  miles,  and  the  area  about  sixty 
thousand  square  miles,  or  about  one  and  a  quarter  times  that  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Syria  may  be  roughly  described  as  a  country  of  alternate  de- 
pression and  elevation.  There  are  four  main  bands  or  strips. 
A  narrow  strip  of  plain  skirts  the  Mediterranean.  Next  to  this 
and  parallel  with  the  coast  is  a  mountainous  strip.  In  the  north 
it  is  the  Lebanon  range,  whose  heights  rise  to  ten  thousand  feet. 
In  the  south  the  continuation,  with  some  interruption  from  lateral 
valleys,  is  the  west  Jordanic  mountains,  declining  into  the  hill 
country  of  Judea.  Thirdly,  we  have  a  belt  or  strip  of  lower 
level.  In  the  north  it  is  the  valley  of  the  Asy  or  Orontes.  In 
the  centre  it  is  Coele- Syria,  or  the  hollow  land.  In  the  south  it 
is  the  unique  valley  of  the  Jordan  and  chasm  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
Last  of  all  is  another  elevated  region,  the  mountains  of  Anti- 
Lebanon  and  the  mountains  of  Moab  and  high  table-lands  east 
of  the  Jordan.  With  such  variety  of  surface  there  must,  of 
course,  be  great  variety  of  climate.  While  there  is  tropical  heat 
at  some  seasons  on  the  coast  and  in  the  Jordan  valley,  Lebanon 
always  wears  a  snowy  crown  and  sends  down  ice-cold  streams. 
Where  water  is  not  lacking,  the  fertile  soil  produces  the  fruits  of 
earth  in  great  variety  even  under  the  poor  tillage  it  now  receives. 
Wheat,  barley,  rice,  durra,  cotton,  tobacco,  grapes,  olives,  figs, 
dates,  oranges  and  lemons  are  staples.  The  mulberry  thrives, 
and  makes  the  rearing  of  the  silkworm  and  raising  of  silk  an 
important  industry.  The  cedar,  the  pine,  the  fir,  once  clothed 
the  mountains.     Buffaloes,  camels,  hoi-ses,  goats  and  sheep  are 

*It  is  perhaps  well  to  note  that  this  is  not  the  Syria  of  the  Old  Testament,  from 
whifh  Phojnicia  and  Palestine  were  distinguished ;  but  it  coincides  with  the  Roman 
province  in  the  days  of  Paul,  and  is  the  Syria  of  the  present  day. 

123 


rJ4  HISTORICAL   SKETfll    OF 

the  domestic  animals.  Tliis  land,  even  after  centuries  of  misrule 
— it  is  part  of  the  dominion  of  "  the  unspeakable  Turk" — is  still 
a  rich,  a  fair,  a  jLjoodly  land. 

It  .scarcely  need  he  said  that  Syria  is  a  storied  land.  It  figures 
largely  in  human  history.  Through  it  lies  the  great  highway 
between  Asia  and  Africa,  which  has  been  so  often  thronged  by 
caravans  of  trade,  so  often  trodden  by  hosts  of  war.  Pharaohs 
that  flourished  bt'fore  the  days  of  Moses;  Assyrian  con(|uerors; 
the  great  Alexander;  Pomi)ey  ;  Moslem  hosts;  crusaders;  the 
French  under  Napoleon,  and  again  in  our  own  time;  conflicting 
Egyptian  and  Turkish  armies — are  all  in  the  procession  that  has 
moved  over  or  tarried  upon  the  Syrian  soil.  More  still,  here  was 
unr.)lled  the  ancient  revelation  of  the  true  God.  Patriarchs 
wandered  here;  this  was  in  part  the  ancient  territory  of  the 
chosen  people.  Proi)het  and  apostle  lived  and  labored  here. 
Highest  of  all,  here  the  life,  the  toils,  the  sorrows,  the  death,  the 
rising  again,  of  our  Lord.  Hence  went  out  at  the  first  the  word 
of  life  for  all  mankind. 

THE   PEOPLE. 

Who  and  what  are  the  inhabitants  of  this  land?  Estimates 
of  the  i)oi)ulation  of  Syria  vary  widely.  The  lowest  is  one,  the 
highest,  two  millions.  There  is  really  an  uncertain  and  ever- 
changing  element  of  considerable  magnitude ;  we  mean  the  wan- 
dering desert-tribes,  who,  to-day  in  Syria,  to-morrow  are  far  down 
in  Ai'abia.  The  fixed  population  is  in  the  cities,  towns  and  vil- 
lages. Damascus  has  lo(),000  inhabitants,  and  in  the  plain 
around  there  are  140  villages  with  a  total  po])ulation  of  50,000 
more.  Aleppo  has  something  less  than  100,000;  Hamah,  over 
40,000;  Hums,  20,000;  Tripoli,  1(),()00;  Beirut,  70,000;  Jaffa, 
8,000;  Jerusalem,  25,000 ;  Sidon,  7,000. 

As  to  races,  there  are  said  to  be  in  Syria  over  25,000  Jews. 
Tliose  in  Palestine — who  constitute  })robably  more  than  half — 
have  come  from  other  countries,  whereas  the  Jewish  element  in 
Ale]ipo  and  Damascus  is  native  there.  There  are  a  few  Turks. 
There  are  fifty  to  sixty  thousand  Armenians.  These — Jews, 
Turks  and  Armenians — aside,  the  great  bulk  of  the  population 
of  Syria  is  to  be  regarded  as  Arabs.  There  is  substantially  but 
one  race ;  there  is  one  prevalent  language ;  there  are,  however, 
many  divisions  and  sects. 

The  Moslems  constitute  the  mass  of  the  population.  They  are 
most  numerous  in  the  secondary  towns  and  rural  districts.  They 
are  of  the  orthodox  faith,  or  Sunnites,  and  of  course  look'  to  the 
sultan  as  not  oidy  their  j)olitical,  but  also  their  religious  head. 
Tiie  Druses  are  often  counted  as  a  Moslem  sect.     Their  doctrines 


THE   SYRIAN    MISSION.  125 

were  long  kept  secret,  but  are  now  better  known.  Though  the 
Druse  superstition  sprang,  in  the  eleventh  century,  from  Islam- 
ism,  it  has  so  far  departed  from  it  as  not  properly  to  be  reckoned 
with  it.  They  regard  the  English  as  their  friends ;  yet  they  have 
sometimes  been  wrought  upon  by  Turkish  Mohammedan  influ- 
ences, and  have  taken  arms  against  those  bearing  the  Christian 
name,  as  in  1841,  1845,  and  notably  in  1860.  The  Druses  pro- 
fess one  God  indefinable,  incomprehensible  and  passionless.  He 
has  become  incarnate  in  a  succession  of  ten  men,  the  last  of 
whom  was  Hakim,  caliph  of  Egypt,  who  was  assassinated  A.  D. 
1044.  With  that  incarnation  the  door  of  mercy  was  closed  ;  no 
converts  are  now  to  be  made.  Hakim  will  one  day  reappear  and 
conquer  the  world.  The  transmigration  of  souls  is  held  by  the 
Druses.  They  have  seven  great  commandments,  one  of  w^iich 
enjoins  truth  ;  but  this  holds  among  themselves  only,  and  prac- 
tically the  Druses  in  this  respect  are  sadly  like  the  Cretans  of 
old.  They  do  not  believe  in  prayer.  It  has  been  charged  that 
in  their  secret  assemblies  they  are  guilty  of  the  most  nefarious 
practices ;  but  the  charge  has  not  been  sustained.  There  is 
among  them  a  special  class — the  Ockals — who  alone  are  initiated 
into  the  deeper  mysteries  of  the  faith.  The  Druses  are  a  moun- 
tain people.  Their  territory  embraces  the  western  slopes  of  Leb- 
anon and  all  the  Anti-Lebanon.  Their  number  is  variously 
estimated,  and  perhaps  the  estimates  are  not  all  made  from  the 
same  point  of  view.  Some  give  fifty  thousand ;  others  not  less 
than  three  times  that  number.  Their  political  head,  the  Great 
Emir,  lives  at  Deir  el  Kamar,  near  Beirut.  The  sheik  of  the 
Ockals  is  the  religious  head. 

The  Nusairiyeh  are  described  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Jessup  as  a  strange, 
wild,  bloodthirsty  race,  numbering  about  two  hundred  thousand, 
who  live  to  the  north  of  Mount  Lebanon,  inhabiting  the  moun- 
tains that  extend  from  Antioch  to  Tripoli.  They  keep  their 
doctrines  secret,  and  have  signs  of  recognition,  like  a  secret  order. 
Women  are  not  allowed  to  be  initiated,  and  are  meanly  esteemed. 
Polygamy  is  common,  and  divorce  occurs  at  the  will  of  the  man. 
Swearing  and  lying  are  universal. 

We  come  now  to  the  nominal  Christians  of  Arab  race  and 
tongue.  There  are,  first,  the  Greeks.  They  are  called  Greeks, 
although  Arabs  by  race,  simply  on  account  of  their  religion. 
They  are  orthodox  members  of  the  Greek  Church.  They  are 
under  the  patronage  of  Russia.  They  have  a  patriarch  of  Anti- 
och and  a  number  of  bishops.  There  are  some  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  of  these  Greeks. 

The  Jacobites  are  a  small  body  of  dissenters  from  the  Greek 
6 


126  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Church.     They  get  their  name  from  Jacobus,  bishop  of  Edessa, 
who  died  A.  d.  578. 

The  Greek  Catholics  are  converts  from  the  Greek  Church  to 
Romanism.  They  have,  however,  made  few  changes  in  passing 
over.  Their  w  orship  is  in  their  native  Arabic.  Their  priests  are 
aUowcd  to  marry.  The  sect  embraces  about  fifty  thousand 
souls,  and  includes  many  of  the  most  enterprising  and  wealthy 
of  the  native  Christians  of  Syria.  They  have  had  a  patron  in 
Austria. 

The  Maronites  represent  the  ancient  Syrian  Church.  They  get 
their  name  from  John  Maro,  monk,  priest  and  patriarch,  who 
died  A.  iJ.  707.  Since  the  twelfth  century  they  have  been  in 
close  communion  with  the  Latin  Church,  though  adhering  to  the 
Oriental  rite.  Their  service  is  conducted  in  the  Syriac,  a  lan- 
guage not  understood  by  the  people.  They  are  ignorant  and 
bigoted.  Their  head  is  the  patriarch  of  Antioch,  whose  resi- 
dence is  in  the  convent  of  Canobin.  The  Maronites  number  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  and  dwell  chiefly  in  Mount  Leb- 
anon. They  cherish  friendship  for  the  French.  These  then  are 
the  sects — the  orthodox  of  the  Greek  Church,  the  Jacobites,  the 
Greek  Catholics  and  the  Maronites — that  make  up  the  so-called 
Christian  element,  the  nominally  Christian  element,  in  the  Arab 
population  of  Syria. 

In  respect  of  the  relation  to  one  another  of  these  various  ele- 
ments, to  some  extent  they  are  found  forming  separate  communi- 
ties. Thus  the  Druses  are  the  exclusive  population  of  about  120 
towns  and  villages.  So  there  are  regions  where  Maronites  alone 
are  found.  Sometimes,  however,  the  various  elements  are 
mingled.  In  the  north  Druses  are  intermingled  with  Maronites, 
in  the  south  with  Greeks.  They  share  thus  with  the  Christians 
the  occupation  of  about  230  villages.  This  contact  may  at  times 
do  something  to  increase  the  spirit  of  toleration  ;  at  others  it  only 
gives  greater  occasion  for  bitterness  and  jealousy.  Religious  and 
political  hatred  and  distrust  would  readily  break  out  into  vio- 
lence if  allowed.  The  conflict  between  Lgypt  and  Turkey,  end- 
ing in  1840,  broke  up  peaceful  relations  that  had  long  existed 
between  Druses  and  Maronites,  and  since  then  there  have  been  a 
number  of  "  battle  years." 

DIFFICULTIES   OF   THE   FIELD. 

It  must  be  obvious  that  the  presence  of  so  many  rival  and 
jealous  Hects  all  calling  themselves  Christian,  must  constitute  a 
very  great  difficulty  in  his  mission  field.  A  still  greater  is  of- 
fered by  the  religion   dominant  in  the  land.      On  the  basis  of 


THE    SYRIAN    MISSION.  127 

missionary  experience  in  Turkey  and  Syria,  the  opinion  has  come 
largely  to  prevail  that  the  Moslem  is  impervious  to  Christian 
work.  The  opinion  surely  needs  to  be  modified  in  view  of 
results  in  India,  where  some  of  the  best  native  Christians  are 
converts  from  Islamism.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  there 
have  been  immense  difficulties  in  the  way  of  evangelizing  the 
Mohammedans  of  the  Turkish  empire.  The  law  long  made  it 
death  for  a  Moslem  to  change  his  faith.  In  1843  a  young  man 
was  publicly  beheaded  in  Constantinople  on  this  account.  This 
event  was  the  starting-point  of  a  series  of  diplomatic  agitations, 
which  culminated  after  the  Crimean  War  in  the  issue  of  the 
Hatti  Humaiyoun,  the  firman  in  which  the  sultan  ordained  re- 
ligious liberty.  But  the  letter  of  this  charter  has  always  been 
evaded.  The  Turks  in  general  do  not  understand  religious 
liberty  in  the  same  sense  in  which  we  do.  Practically,  freedom 
of  conscience  does  not  exist  for  converts  from  Mohammedanism. 
These  abandon  the  faith  of  their  fathers  at  their  own  peril. 
Were  there  no  hindrances  of  this  kind,  there  would  remain 
Moslem  pride  and  bigotry.  In  the  Turkish  empire  the  nominal 
Christians  are  in  a  state  of  subjection  ;  and  it  is  not  often  the 
case  that  the  rulers  accept  the  faith  of  the  ruled.  There  have 
been  special  reasons  why  it  has  not  been  so  here.  There  has 
been,  it  must  be  confessed,  little  to  attract  in  the  Christianity 
exhibited  by  the  fossilized  churches  of  the  East.  The  Moslem's 
notions  of  Christianity  have  been  derived  from  those  whose  doc- 
trines are  corrupt,  whose  worship  is  idolatrous,  whose  morals  are 
debased.  The  very  truth  contained  in  the  Moslem's  system — its 
doctrine  of  the  spirituality  of  God — has  been  an  obstacle  to  the 
progress  of  Protestantism,  which  he  has  supposed  of  a  piece  with 
the  only  Christianity  of  which  he  has  known. 

MISSIONARY   OPERATIONS   IN   SYRIA   HITHERTO. 

Our  sketch  of  Protestant  and  American  missionary  work  in 
Syria  falls  into  two  parts.  The  first  extends  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  year  1870.  The  second  embraces  the  period  from 
1870  to  the  present. 


■J.'S  HISTORICAL   SKETfll    OF 


FIRST  PERIOD— 1818-1870. 

The  history  of  American  missions  in  Syria — and  tliey  are 
tlu'  principal  ones  there* — begins  with  the  appointment,  in  1818, 
of  riiny  Fisk  and  Levi  Pareons  as  missionaries  to  Palestine. 
These  are  honored  names,  though  only  a  brief  service  was  per- 
mitted to  their  wearers.  These  zealous  and  devoted  men  were 
sent  out  by  the  American  Board — at  tlnit  time  and  for  a 
number  of  years  later  the  only  agency  for  foreign  evangel- 
istic work  available  to  American  Presbyterians.  ^Ir.  Parsons 
arrived  at  Jerusalem  February  17,  18'2l.  He  was  the  first 
Protestant  missionary  that  ever  resided  there,  and  he  began 
the  work  of  distributing  the  Scriptures.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  the  disturbing  influence  of  the  revolt  in  Greece, 
and  of  the  effort  of  that  country  to  secure  its  inde{)endence  of 
Turkey,  extended  to  Syria.  Mr.  Parsons  thought  it  best  to  with- 
draw for  a  time.  He  did  not  live  to  return,  as  his  death  occurred 
in  Egypt,  February  10,  1822.  Mr.  Fisk  reached  Jerusalem  in 
1823,  having  been  joined  on  the  way  by  Jonas  King,  known 
afterward  so  long  and  so  well  by  his  evangelistic  labors  in  Greece. 
The  brethren  preached  and  taught  in  Jerusalem,  with  various 
intervals  of  sojourn  and  travel  in  other  parts  of  the  land,  until 
the  spring  of  1825.  As  the  quiet  of  the  region  was  disturbed 
by  the  acts  of  the  pasha  of  Damascus,  who  had  come  with  an 
armed  force  to  collect  tribute  due  him,  the  missionaries  then 
withdrew.  Mr.  King  left  Syria  shortly  and  Mr.  Fisk  died.  The 
station  at  Jerusalem  was  suspended  for  nearly  nine  years. 
Subsetjuent  efforts  to  revive  it  were  not  successful,  and,  in 
1844,  it  was  finally  abandoned. 

What  larger  experience  only  confirmed  in  respect  of  the  dis- 
advantages of  Jerusalem  as  a  mission  centre,  early  began  to 
be  apparent.  Hence,  as  far  back  as  1823,  a  new  point  was 
chosen.  This  was  Beirut.  It  is  an  ancient  city  on  the  Med- 
iterranean coast,  with  a  roadstead  and  small  artificial  harbor.  It 
was  the  port  of  Damascus,  distant  fifty-seven  miles,  or  by  dili- 
gence fourteen  hours.     Now,  however,  it  is  the  more  important 

♦The  Irish  Presbyterian  Church  has  a  station  in  Damascus;  the  liritisli  Syrian 
School  Society  has  sciiools  in  Beirut,  Damascus,  Baallx'k,  Tyre  and  elscwliorc  :  the 
Leltanon  Si'h(jnls  Committee  of  the  Free  Churcli  of  SidtUunl  has  souio  twenty  sciiools 
in  the  western  ilistrictof  the  Lebanon  Piishalic;  theCliunli  Missinnaiy  S.M-ii'ty  (Cliiireh 
of  England)  occupies  Palestine;  the  Kelbrmed  Prcsliytcrian  ('liiinli  i>f  tlic  United 
States  has  a  mission  at  Latakiah,  laboring  chieHy  among  the  pagan  Niisaiiiych  ;  the 
.Icrusalem  Verein  of  Berlin  and  the  Chrishona  Mission  have  missions  and  scIumiIs  in 
.Jerusalem.  There  are  also  twelve  medical  missions  in  Syria  (Palestine  included). 
See  these  named,  with  some  less  considerable  enterprises,  in  the  Foreign  Minsionary 
for  Decemljer,  1882. 


THE    SYRIAN    MISSION.  129 

city  of  the  two  as  respects  commerce  To  the  east,  at  no  great 
distance,  and  stretching  to  north  and  south,  is  the  range  of 
Mount  Lebanon.  To  the  south  is  a  beautiful  and  fertile  plain. 
The  city  rises  from  the  water's  edge  and  extends  back  u])on  a 
hill  It  is  well  supplied  with  water.  From  a  population  of 
perhaps  15,000,  in  1820,  Beirut  has  increased  to  about  70,000. 
This  is  mainly  Semitic  and  comprises  Druses,  Maronites,  Greeks 
(i.  e.,  as  already  explained,  Arabs  belonging  to  the  Greek 
Church),  Moslems  and  Jews.  The  streets  are  wide,  the  houses 
lofty  and  spacious,  the  suburbs  beautiful  with  gardens  and  trees. 
From  the  sea  the  aspect  is  more  that  of  a  European  than  an 
Oriental  city. 

The  missionaries  were  Messrs.  Bird  and  Goodell.  They  landed 
October  16, 1823.  They  occupied  themselves  with  circulation  of 
the  Scriptures,  which  soon  excited  the  opposition  of  the  Papists, 
and  called  out  the  anathemas  of  the  Maronite  and  Syrian  patri- 
archs ;  with  the  preparation  of  useful  books  ;  and  with  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young.  Even  in  these  its  early  stages  the  work  was 
not  without  result.  But  it  also  was  exposed  to  the  incidents  and 
consequences  of  that  war  which  Greece  waged  for  independence ; 
and,  in  the  unsettled  state  of  the  whole  East,  Messrs.  Bird, 
Goodell  and  Smith — Eli  Smith,  who  had  joined  the  mission  the 
year  before — thought  best  to  remove  for  a  time  and  retired  to 
Malta  in  May,  1828. 

The  mission  was  reoccupied  in  May,  1830,  by  Mr.  Bird  and 
-'his  wife.  Mr.  Smith  returned  later.  The  Avork  was  taken  up 
again  in  the  same  forms.  With  the  exception  of  another  period 
of  suspension — this  was  1839-40 — similar  to  the  one  just  noted, 
it  has  been  prosecuted  ever  since.  The  history  of  the  mission 
pictures  many  vicissitudes  and  alternations.  At  one  time  the 
plague  is  feared.  Then  the  cholera  (1832)  rages  in  Aleppo, 
Damascus  and  Acre,  cuts  off  a  third  of  the  pilgrims  from  Beirut 
to  Mecca,  but  does  not  enter  Beirut  itself.  One  while  the  land 
is  agitated  by  wars  whose  causes  are  of  external  origin ;  or  dis- 
turbed by  political  commotions  in  which  hopes  and  fears  connect 
with  the  attitude  and  action  of  the  European  powers  ;  or  troubled 
by  local  oppression  and  uprising ;  and  again  it  is  at  peace.  The 
letter  of  the  law  grows  more  favorable  and  tolerant.  The  spirit 
of  Moslem  magistrates  and  populace  seems  sometimes  to  be 
softening ;  and  again  there  are  outbreaks  of  bitter  hate.  New 
ground  is  entered  upon  and  new  stations  are  formed ;  new  enter- 
prises are  taken  up  in  existing  stations  ;  new  missionaries  an-ive. 
We  become  acquainted  with  the  now  household  names  of  Thom- 
son, Van  Dyck,  Calhoun,  De  Forest,  Eddy,  Bliss,  Jessup,  Post. 
"  How  happens  it,"  said  a  man  one  day  to  Mr.  Wheeler,  of  Har- 


130  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

poot,  "that  all  the  missionaries'  wives  arc  an«:els  ?"  The  angels 
were  not  inonopolizi'd  l)y  the  mission  upon  tlie  Kiiplirates.  There 
were  noble  women  in  Syria,  drawn  thither  hy  love  of  Christ  and 
pity  for  the  degraded.  Thi'v  were  teaching  in  schools;  they  were 
exhibiting  the  infliienee  and  power  of  Cliristianity  in  the  home; 
they  were  accomplishing  much  for  the  elevation  of  their  own  sex 
in  a  land  where  it  has  been  signally  degraded.  iSometimes  the 
mission  record  is  of  death  or  of  the  removal  of  workers  on  ac- 
count of  failing  health.  Often  there  is  earnest  ajipeal  for  rein- 
forcement. Tiiere  are  times  of  cpiiet  and  times  of  persecution. 
There  are  .seasons  of  great  promise ;  and  again  there  is  need  of 
faith  and  patience,  as  what  seemed  opportunities  of  expanded 
work  and  j)ermanent  growth  vanbh.* 

THE   MISSION    WORK    IN   ITS    BRANCHES. 

In  seeking  to  gain  intelligent  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  the  Syrian  mission,  we  cannot  do  better  than  di.s- 
tingui-sh  the  main  instrumentalities,  and,  fixing  our  attenticm 
upon  them  successively,  follow  each  along  the  line  of  its  opera- 
tion. These,  of  course,  are  the  same  here  as  elsewhere:  the 
Press,  the  School,  the  Pulpit. 

THE   PRESS,   TRANSLATION,  ETC. 

Tiie  first  printing  in  connection  with  the  mission  was  done  at 
IMalta.  The  American  Board  had  an  establishment  in  full  opera- 
tion there  as  early  as  1826.  There  were  three  presses  and  fonts 
of  type  in  several  languages,  Arabic  included.  In  1834  the 
Arabic  portion  of  the  establishment  was  transferred  to  Beirut. 
INIr.  Smith  was  to  have  the  charge.  He  bestowed  much  thought 
and  labor  upon  the  outfit.  It  soon  became  evident  that  the 
Ara])ic  type  used  was  not  up  to  the  standards  of  poi)ular  taste, 
Mr.  Smith  collected  models  of  the  most  ap])roved  characters, 
and  type  was  cast  corres])onding  with  these.  The  stock  was  re- 
])lenishcd  from  time  to  time,  and  nothing  remained  lacking  on 
the  score  of  elegance.  Mr.  Smith  himself  for  many  years  read 
the  proof-sheets  of  nearly  every  work  printed.  He  became  one 
of  the  most  accurate  and  finished  Arabic  scholare  of  his  day. 

Sometimes  this  nussion  i)ress  is  idle  for  a  little  on  account  of 
lack  of  funds  or  of  a  printer,  or  that  more  attention  may  be  de- 
voted to  other  branches  of  the  work  ;  but  in  general  it  is  active 
and  fruitful.     No  government  restriction  or  censorehip  seeks  to 


*Tho  aspect  of  mission  work  as  rolated  to  the  Druses  in  the  period  from  1835  to 
1812  Hignally  ilUistrates  promise  and  disappointment. 


THE   SYRIAN   MISSION.  131 

impede.  Its  issues  steadily  grow  in  number  and  comprise  an 
increasing  storehouse  of  truth.  Previous  to  the  transfer  to  Beirut 
three  works  had  been  issued  in  Arabic.  One  was  "  The  Farewell 
Letter  of  Rev.  Jonas  King;"  another  was  "Asaad  Shidiak's 
Statement  of  his  Conversion  and  Persecutions;"  the  third  was 
Mr.  Bird's  "  Reply  to  the  Maronite  Bishop  of  Beirut."  Between 
1836  and  1870  nearly  sixty  titles  are  enumerated.  Among  these 
were  such  works  as  the  "  Dairyman's  Daughter,"  "  Nevins' 
Thoughts  on  Popery,"  "Alexander's  Evidences,"  "  Edwards' 
History  of  Redemption."  There  were  many  valuable  works  for 
school  use  and  many  tracts.  The  work  of  the  press  indicates  a 
demand  for  its  supplies ;  and  the  supply  operates  to  increase  the 
demand. 

We  are  indebted  to  Syrian  missionaries,  if  not  to  the  mission 
press,  for  most  excellent  literary  work  in  the  service  of  biblical 
learning.  Dr.  Robinson's  "  Researches  in  Palestine  " — still  the 
great  authority  in  its  department— owes  something  to  the  labors 
of  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  who  traveled  with  its  author,  and  gave  him 
the  assistance  of  his  Arabic  scholarship.  And  Dr.  Wm.  M. 
Thomson  was  fitted  by  his  life  in  Syria  to  write  his  work,  no  less 
useful  than  charming,  "  The  Land  and  the  Book."  But  the 
great  glory  of  the  mission  is  its  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
Arabic.  There  existed  numerous  translations  already  both  of 
Old  Testament  and  New,  some  in  print  and  some  in  manuscript. 
These,  however,  were  of  comparatively  late  date.  They  were  in 
some  cases  made  from  other  versions,  as  Syriac,  Coptic,  Latin, 
etc.  The  text  of  the  translation  used  by  the  missionaries  came 
from  Rome.  It  offended  the  taste  of  the  Arabs,  fastidious  as  to 
correctness  of  language  and  elegance  of  style.  There  was  need 
of  a  new  version.  Hence  it  was  resolved  to  make  a  new  transla- 
tion into  Arabic  from  the  inspired  originals. 

The  work  was  begun  by  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  and  long  prosecuted 
by  him.  He  had  the  aid  of  Mr.  Bistany,  a  native  scholar.  When 
Dr.  Smith  died,  eight  years  later — in  1857 — he  had  put  into 
Arabic  more  than  three-quarters  of  the  Bible.  A  small  portion 
had  received  his  final  and  exacting  revision.  A  much  larger 
was  nearly  ready  for  the  press.  Thus  the  work  was  well  ad- 
vanced. It  was  taken  up  by  Dr.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck,  connected 
with  the  mission  since  1840,  and  recognized  by  all  as  possessing 
in  high  degree  the  necessary  qualifications.  He  had  the  assist- 
ance also  of  the  best  native  scholarship.  The  translation  was 
finished  in  1861,  and  the  entire  Bible  printed  in  1865.  It  was 
thus  the  work  of  sixteen  years.  It  is  praised  as  accurate  and 
classical.  It  is  now  printed  in  New  York,  London  and  Beirut, 
in  different  sizes  and  in  cheap  and  attractive  form.     Let  us  re- 


132  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

mciiibcr  tliat  tliis  is  a  missionary  achievement  not  for  Syria 
alone:  it  is  a  work  for  all  Mohammedan  lands.  Sixty  millions 
speak  Arahic  as  their  native  tongue.  It  is  the  sacred  language 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions.  They  dwell  from  the 
western  coast  of  Africa  to  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia.  The  Word 
of  God  "  is  on  sale  in  Arabic  in  Jerusalem  and  Damascus,  in 
Alexandria  and  Cairo,  in  Constantinople  and  Aleppo,  in  Mosul 
and  Bagdad,  in  Teheran  and  Tabriz,  in  Delhi  and  Agra,  in  Cal- 
cutta and  Bombay,  in  Shanghai,  Canton  and  Peking,  in  Zanzibar 
and  Khartoum,  in  Algiers  and  Tunis,  in  Liberia  and  Sierra 
Leone."     This  is  America's  gift  to  the  Mohammedan  world. 

EDUCATION, 

Education  must  enter  largely  into  all  missionary  work.  It  has 
been  especially  prominent  in  the  work  in  Syria.  Schools  were 
begun  in  Beirut  in  1824.  At  first  the  wives  of  the  missionaries 
taught  a  class  of  six  Arab  children.  Soon  an  Arab  teacher  was 
engaged.  The  pupils  increased  rapidly  in  number.  In  1827  six 
hundred  were  in  attendance  on  thirteen  schools,  one  hundred 
being  girls.  The  Komish  ecclesiastics  were  very  hostile  to  these 
schools.  At  first  only  reading  and  writing  were  taught.  There 
■was  not  then  a  demand  for  higher  instruction,  nor  were  there 
teachers  qualified  to  give  it.  These  common  schools  spread  from 
Beirut  into  other  parts  of  the  land.  They  pushed  into  Mount 
Lebanon,  into  the  interior,  into  the  other  cities  of  the  coast. 
They  did  a  good  work,  raising  up  a  great  body  of  readers  and 
causing  a  demand  for  books,  and  preparing  the  way  for  higher 
schools.  Many  taught  in  them  became  converts.  Thus  by  them 
Protestantism  gained  entrance  and  was  advanced.  And  they 
had  an  inij)ortant  influence  in  rousing  other  sects  to  rivalry,  and 
in  diffusing  knowledge  and  raising  the  standard  of  intelligence. 

The  missionaries  introduced  new  notions  about  female  educa- 
tion. It  was  part  of  the  degradation  of  woman  that  it  was 
thought  unnecessary,  or  even  dangerous,  that  she  should  be 
taught.  The  missionaries  received  girls  into  their  families.  By 
and  by  they  were  found  in  the  common  schools ;  then  schools 
were  opened  for  them.  There  was  one  in  Beirut,  in  charge  of 
Taunus  el  Haddad,  one  of  the  early  converts  of  the  mission.  A 
boarding-school  was  begun  at  Beirut,  and  much  attention  subse- 
(piently  given  to  it  and  great  good  accomplished  by  it.  Ladies 
went  out  from  America  to  take  charge  of  it.  Its  scoj)e  was  ad- 
vanced with  the  advancing  demands  of  its  ])atr<)ns.  In  ]8()6  a 
comniodious  and  substantial  edifice  was  erected  for  it, at  a  cost  of 
about  $11,000. 


THE    SYRIAN   MISSION.  133 

About  1863  another  boarding-school  for  girls  was  established, 
at  Sidou,  iis  a  purely  missionary  institution,  with  a  view  to 
training  teachers  and  helpers  in  the  work.  These  efforts  for 
female  education  have  benefited  the  minds  and  hearts  upon  which 
they  have  wrought.  They  have  done  a  larger  and  greater  work 
in  transforming  and  removing  the  prejudices  of  centuries. 

In  1834  we  find  ten  interesting  young  men  receiving  instruc- 
tion from  the  missionaries  in  English  and  in  science.  Out  of  this 
grew  a  seminary  for  boys,  suspended  in  1842,  but  revived  at 
Abeih  in  1845,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  It 
was  meant  to  raise  up  teachers  and  pastors ;  but  the  end  was  not 
accomplished  as  fully  as  was  hoped,  althougli  considerable  classes 
were  gathered,  and  these  from  many  quarters.  In  1850,  for 
example,  of  nineteen  pupils,  four  were  Druses,  three  Greeks,  four 
Maronites,  four  Greek  Catholics,  two  Protestants,  and  one  each 
Syrian  and  Armenian.  Up  to  1870  most  of  the  teachers  in 
the  schools  and  religious  instructors  in  the  congregations  were 
graduates  of  this  institution. 

For  a  time  the  Abeih  seminary  had  a  theological  department. 
In  1869  a  theological  seminary  was  begun  there.  Dr.  Jessup, 
from  Beirut,  and  Mr.  Eddy,  from  Sidon,  were  associated  with 
Mr.  Calhoun  in  the  charge  of  it.  There  were  seven  students 
in  the  first  class.  They  spent  their  vacation  of  five  months  in 
evangelistic  work. 

The  time  came  when  the  need  was  felt  for  an  institution  of  high 
order.  The  project  for  a  Syrian  Protestant  college  was  discussed 
at  a  meeting  of  the  mission  in  1861,  and  the  plan  sketched.  "The 
objects  deemed  essential  were  to  enable  natives  to  obtain  in  their 
own  country,  in  their  own  language,  and  at  a  moderate  cost,  a 
thorough  literary,  scientific,  and  professional  education  ;  to  found 
an  institution  which  should  be  conducted  on  principles  strictly 
evangelical,  but  not  sectarian,  with  doors  open  to  youth  of  every 
Oriental  sect  and  nationality  Avho  would  conform  to  its  regula- 
tions, but  so  ordered  that  students,  while  elevated  intellectually 
and  spiritually,  should  not  materially  change  their  native  customs. 
The  hope  was  entertained  that  much  of  the  instruction  might  at 
once  be  intrusted  to  j^ious  and  competent  natives,  and  that  ulti- 
mately the  teaching  could  be  left  in  the  hands  of  those  Avho  had 
been  raised  up  by  the  college  itself."  It  was  deemed  best  that  the 
college  should  be  independent  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  Still  the 
connection  with  the  mission  could  not  but  be  close.  "  Missionary 
instruction  created  a  demand  for  it ;  the  plans  and  prayers 
and  labors  of  missionaries  established  it ;  the  friends  of  missions 
endowed  it.  Its  aim  and  that  of  other  missionary  labor  are  one — 
the  enlightenment  and  salvation  of  the  Arabic-speaking  race." 

6* 


lo4  HISTORICAL   SKKTCII    OF 

Most  of  the  money  w:us  raised  in  America.  A  plot  of  ground  wa.s 
inircliiu<('<l  in  the  sul)urhs  of  Beirut,  and  buihlings  were  begun. 
Tlie  college  wius  ojx'ucd  in  18t)(),  with  a  chuss  of  fourteen  menibei-^. 
Dr.  Daniel  Bliss  was  president.  A  coui"se  of  medical  iiLStruction 
was  soon  added  to  the  academic. 


CHURCHES,  ETC. 

"lie  commanded  us  to  preach  unto  the  jK'oplc,"  said  the 
a}M»stles.  The  j)ress  and  the  school  have  their  place ;  but  the 
chief  agency  in  sprcjiding  the  kingdom  must  be  the  oral  ])roclama- 
tion  of  the  gos})el  of  the  kingdom.  None  will  (juestion  this 
])nnciple.  It  may  ha])j)en,  however,  for  a  time  in  some  com- 
munities that  the  way  is  not  open  for  preaching  on  an  extended 
scale.  Much  of  the  jK>j)ulati()n  may  be  not  accessible  by  it. 
Hence  the  need  of  a  ])reparatory  work,  in  which  attention  is  given 
chiefly  to  methods  and  agencies  that  are  avowedly  subordinate. 
This  lias  been  the  state  of  affairs  in  Syria.  The  Moslems  espe- 
cially could  not  be  reached  by  preaching.  They  would  not  listen 
to  it.  The  most  that  could  be  done  for  them  was  through  the 
])ress  and  the  school.  Hence  the  prominence  of  these  agencies  in 
Syrian  mission  work. 

Preaching,  however,  has  by  no  means  been  neglected.  At  first 
much  Wits  informal,  and  ])artook  of  the  nature  of  conversation 
and  individual  address.  The  missionaries  admitted  all  comers  to 
their  family  worship,  and  used  it  as  a  means  of  making  known  the 
truth.  The  early  efforts  were  not  in  vain.  In  1827  a  little  band 
of  twenty  converts  had  been  gathered.  It  comprised  several  who 
long  sun'ived,  and  since  have  been  very  useful  in  the  service. 
One  had  a  short  course,  and  received  the  martyr's  crown.  Asaad 
Shidiak  wjxs  a  young  educated  Manmite,  teac-her  of  science  and 
theology  in  one  of  their  convents,  and  afterwards  conductor  of  an 
Arabic  school  for  boys  in  Beirut.  There  he  became  a  convert  to 
Protectant  Christianity.  The  Maronite  patriarch  sent  for  him, 
and  detained  him  in  custody,  trying  all  means  to  reclaim  him. 
Asjuvd  escaped,  but  was  again  taken.  It  became  known  that  he 
w;vs  imprisoned  and  enchained  in  the  convent  of  Canobin.  (.)cca- 
sionally  glimpses  only  could  be  had  of  his  situation.  He 
lingered  out  a  few  years  of  oppression  and  cruelty,  maintaining 
his  Christian  profession  to  the  last.  His  death  is  involved  in 
obscurity,  but  is  supposed  to  have  occurred  in  1830. 

For  many  years  the  converts  at  Bciirut  were  received  into  the 
mission  church,  which  included  the  missionary  families  there.  In 
1848  the  native  Protestants  of  Beirut  jjctitioned  to  be  set  off  in  a 
church  by  themselves.     This  was    accordingly  done.     The  next 


THE   SYRIAN   MISSION.  135 

year  this  church  had  a  membership  of  twenty-seven.  Ten  were 
from  the  Greek  Church,  four  Greek  Catholics,  four  IMaronites, 
five  Armenians,  three  Druses,  and  one  a  Jacobite.  The  testimony 
is  that  they  were  lettini^  their  light  shine.  Additions  are  reported 
from  time  to  time.  In  1869  a  fine  building,  well  located,  pro- 
vided with  tower  and  bell,  was  com])leted.  It  was  to  serve  both 
for  the  Anglo-American  element  an<l  the  native  congregation. 

In  1844  there  was  an  interesting  movement  at  Ha.sl)ciya.  This 
was  a  place  of  several  thousand  inhabitants,  mainly  Druses  and 
Greeks,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Hermon.  A  considerable  body 
seceded  from  the  Greek  Church,  declared  themselves  Protestants, 
and  applied  to  the  mission  for  instruction.  Their  motives  were  at 
first  somewhat  mixed ;  but  the  course  of  affairs  showed  a  great 
deal  of  sincerity  and  earnastness.  Native  heli)ers  were  sent,  and 
some  of  the  missionaries  themselves  went  thither.  The  Greek 
patriarch  at  Damascus  became  alarmed,  and  a  troop  of  horsemen 
was  sent  to  quarter  themselves  on  the  Protestant  families.  The 
Druses  now  interfered  for  the  protection  of  the  Protestants,  and 
succeeded  in  checking  persecution  for  a  time.  It  subsequently 
broke  out  violently,  and  the  victims  were  obliged  to  flee.  We 
need  not  follow  the  coui-se  of  events  further  than  to  say  that 
in  the  spring  of  1847  the  Protestants  of  Hsusbeiya  succeeded  in 
laying  their  grievances  before  the  sultan,  and  an  order  was  issued 
that  they  be  protected  and  no  one  allowed  to  disturb  them  in 
their  meetings  and  worship.  A  church  of  sixteen  members  was 
formed  in  July,  1851,  which  increiised  to  twenty-five  the  same 
year.  Good  testimony  is  given  respecting  it  in  the  following 
years.  Hasbeiya  suffered  greatly  in  the  war  of  1860.  It  wa.s  the 
scene  of  a  terrible  massacre  by  the  Druses,  and  the  Protestant 
house  of  Avorship  was  partially  destroyed ;  but  of  more  than  one 
thousand  persons  murdered  there  and  in  the  vicinity,  only  nine 
were  Protestants.  "It  is,"  says  Dr.  Anderson,  "a  remarkable 
fact  that,  excepting  perhaps  in  Damascus,  no  injury  was  offered 
to  a  missionary,  and  Protestants,  when  recognized  as  such,  were 
generally  safe." 

We  have  interesting  accounts  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
native  churches  at  Sidon,  at  Tripoli,  at  Hums ;  but  on  these  we 
cannot  dwell.  The  general  features  are  the  same.  The  work 
begins,  and  then  local  persecution  arises.  As  at  Hums,  the  native 
brethren  are  stoned  and  beaten  in  the  streets.  As  at  Safeeta,  in 
1867,  the  whole  Protestant  community  is  arrested,  released,  driven 
into  the  wilderness,  and  their  houses  plundered.  What  Syrian 
converts,  from  Asaad  Shidiak  down,  have  been  willing  to  endure, 
show's  how  genuine  has  been  the  work  of  grace  in  their  hearts. 

Though  the  missionaries  gave  special  eftbrt  and  attention  to  the 


1:1G  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

rai.sin«r  up  of  ii  native  niinistry,  they  did  not  meet  with  eorre- 
spondinp:  sueee-ss.  In  1870  there  were  .some  forty  as.sifjtants  and 
teachers,  hut  there  were  hut  two  native  ordaincnl  ministers. 

It  .sliould  be  mentioned  that  native  missionary  .societies  were 
formed  in  the  churche-s,  and  jirogre-ss  made  in  educating  the  con- 
gregations in  the  grace  of  giving. 

RE.SUME   OF    RESULTS   UT   TO    1H70. 

There  are  many  results  of  missionary  work,  most  real,  most 
im|K>rtant,  which  cannot  be  put  into  figure.^*.  Such  are  the 
removal  of  prejudice  and  the  gaining  of  resjR-ct.  Book.s,  .school.s, 
<  liiirches,  the  lives  of  mi.s-;ionaries  and  of  their  converts  must 
through  a  .series  of  years  produce  an  eflect  up(m  the  mind  of  any 
community.  As  the  Christian  religion  comes  to  be  undci'stood, 
as  its  fruits  are  noted,  there  is  more  hope  that  it  may  be  at 
la.st  embraced.  The  fifty  years'  labor  at  which  we  have  glanced 
accomplished  much  in  this  direction.  Beyond  this,  however,  there 
is  nuich  in  the  present  case  that  is  visible  and  tangible.  The 
entire  Bil)le  hits  been  translated.  Many  excellent  works,  educa- 
tional and  religious,  have  been  published.  Millions  of  j)ages  have 
been  printed  and  juit  in  circulation.  Many  common  schools  have 
been  established,  in  which,  among  others,  are  many  Moslem  girls. 
There  are  boarding-schools  for  girls  at  Beirut  and  Sidon.  There 
is  a  seminary  for  young  men  at  Abeih,  and  a  theological  seminary 
there  also.  There  is  a  Syrian  Protestant  college  at  Beirut.  There 
are  native  churches  at  Beirut,  and  at  and  about  Tripoli,  Abeih, 
and  Sidon,  with  numerous  Protestant  communities  and  preaching- 
stations.  The  churches  are  being  trained  to  benevolence  luid  to 
self-support.     So  much  for  the  first  period  of  the  history. 

SECOND  PERIOD— 1870-1885. 

This  is  constituted  a  distinct  period  by  change  of  control.  As 
we  have  seen,  the  INIission  wsis  founded  and  had  been  conducted 
h'therto  by  tlie  American  Board.  At  the  reunion  of  the  Ohl  and 
New  School  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  ('hurch  in  1870  the 
members  of  the  former  New  School  body,  who  had  constituted 
a  very  considerable  jiortion  of  the  supporters  of  the  Americmi 
Board,  gave  uj)  their  relation  to  it  and  became  constituents  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  As  it  was  felt  not  to 
be  just  tiiat  the  American  Board  with  diminished  inimber  of  con- 
tributors should  contiiuio  to  bear  the  same  burden,  or  that  those 
who  had  long  contributed  to  its  work  should  be  recpiired  to 
renounce  all  their  rights  therein,  an  amicable  arrangement  was 


THE    SYRIAN    MISSION.  137 

made  whereby  cei'taiu  missions,  of  which  those  in  Syria  and 
Persia  were  chief,  were  transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board. 
While  this  transfer  gives  us  as  Presbyterians  a  new  and  special 
interest,  and  responsibility,  it  made  little  immediate  difference  as 
respects  affairs  in  the  field  itself.  It  wa.s  wisely  left  to  time  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  changes  which  should  bring  the  Mission 
into  conformity  with  the  Presbyterian  system.  This  course  has 
been  vindicated  by  the  result.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Mission,  December  1882,  the  plan  of  the  formation  of  a  Synod 
and  five  Presbyteries,  to  have  no  organic  ecclesiastical  connection 
with  Churches  in  Great  Britain  or  the  United  States,  was  unani- 
mously adopted.  This  plan  has  been  carried  out  so  far  as  the 
organization  of  the  Presbytery  of  Sidon,  at  Jedeideh  in  October 
1883 ;  and  a  second  Presbytery  at  Beirut,  in  April  1885.  The 
meetings  of  these  Presbyteries  held  up  to  the  present,  show 
that  the  Syrian  Church  is  at  least  an  apt  scholar  as  respects 
the  lessons  of  "concerted  action,  the  validity  of  representative 
authority,  and  the  majority  rule." 

This  period  coincides  exactly  with  the  oi'ganized  activity  of  the 
women  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Foreign  Missions.  Syria 
as  a  mission  field  has  enlisted  their  interest  and  shared  their 
labors  in  its  due  proportion.  The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  has  done  much,  especially  in  support  of  school  work,  pro- 
viding buildings,  paying  salaries  of  teachers,  and  maintaining 
scholarships. 

POLITICAL  agitation;  attitude  of  government. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  effect  on  the  Mission  in  the 
former  period  due  to  the  fact  that  Syria,  having  to  so  great  extent 
a  Moslem  population,  is  wonderfully  responsive  to  agitations  in 
the  Moslem  world ;  and  to  the  fact  that  its  fortunes  are  bound  up 
with  those  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  In 
the  present  period  we  have  like  effects  from  the  same  causes. 
These  causes  wrought  in  the  Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877  ;  the 
rebellion  of  Arabi  Pasha  in  Egypt  in  1882  ;  and  the  rebellion  of 
the  Mahdi  and  the  progress  of  affairs  in  the  Soudan.  These 
events  have  been  prejudicial  by  introducing  into  the  mission  field 
a  new,  disorderly,  corrupting,  and  hostile  element.  During  the 
Russian  war,  thousands  of  ruffianly  Circassians  were  shipped  from 
Constantinople  to  Syria,  and  there  let  loose  to  lead  a  life  of 
beggary  and  robbery.  The  Egyptian  rebellion  brought  another 
army  of  refugees  from  Egypt,  to  demoralize  every  port  and  beach 
on  which  they  landed.  They  have  moreover  been  prejudicial  by 
ministering  to  excitement  and  fomenting  fanaticism.     In   some 


138  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

localities  tlu»  ])()|)ular  hatred  seems  iiiteiL^ified  ;  and  shows  itself  in 
oiithreaks  (tf  opposition  from  time  to  time. 

"  It  is  more  evident  than  ever  that  the  American  mission  work 
in  Turkey  must  come  before  lon<r  to  a  stage  of  conflict  with  the 
Moslem  p<»\ver.  We  are  ])r()hil)ited  from  buildinjf  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  tlu^  authorities  are  lei'linir  thi-ir  way  toward  the  suppres- 
sion of  our  schools  and  tlie  closiufj;  of  our  press."  (Annual  Report 
of  Frcshyterian  Hoard  of  Foreijrn  Missions,  1885.)  These  words, 
expre.ssint;  the  convictions  of  the  missionaries  at  the  ])resent  time, 
we  cite  as  indicative  of  the  })olitical  current  during  the  period 
now  treated. 

THE   WORK    IN    (JENERAL. 

Despite  the  effects  of  wars  and  rumors  of  war,  despite  disease, 
drought  and  famine,  despite  financial  troubles  in  our  own  land 
which  have  prevented  the  more  ade(|uate  working  of  the  field,  the 
Mission  luis  on  the  whole  enjoyed  in  the  i)resent  period  a  g<jod 
degree  of  prosperity ;  in  the  latter  part  of  it  a  high  dt'gree.  The 
old  posts — Beirut,  Abeih,  Tripoli,  and  Sidon — with  their  out- 
stations  have  been  the  scene  of  varied  and  fruitful  labor ;  and  all 
exhibit  growtli.  At  Zahleh,  nearly  east  from  Beirut,  and  in  the 
Bukaa,  or  plain  region  between  l>ebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon,  a 
new  station  was  begun  in  1872,  making  the  fifth  of  the  centers 
about  which  the  work  gather.* 

THE    WORK    IN    ITS    BRANCHES. 

In  addition  to  the  main  instrumentalities,  the  Press,  the  School 
and  the  Pulpit,  another,  Medical  Work,  assumes  considerable 
importance  in  these  years. 

THE  PRESS,  1870-1885. 

This  agency  has  continued  in  active  operation.  The  establish- 
ment (at  Beirut)  has  grown  to  large  proportions,  and  the  eciuip- 
ment  has  been  made  more  and  more  complete.  The  product 
corresjjonds  in  amount  and  variety.  The  total  nundier  of  pages 
printed  from  the  beginning  rises  into  hundreds  of  millions. 
The  issues  comprise  weekly  and  monthly  journals,  Westminster 
Sunday-school  lessons,  text-l)ooks  and  educational  Avorks  of  all 
grades,  tracts,  Bibles  and  other  books,  religious  and  miscellaneous. 


•The  suRRostion  of  the  Foreign  Missionarii,  Dnceniber  1883,  is  very  vahiahle:  "Tho 
Hyria  Mission  Field  may  best  do  stiidioil  liv  ftr<nii>inj£  the  work  aroiiml  the  five 
principal  stations :  Beirut,  Abeih,  Sidon,  Tripoli,  and  Zahleli.  To  nttcnipt  to  f;rasp  the 
ni'ld  in  one  view  may  leave  tlie  min<l  in  oonfusion.  Tlic  younn  ehurches  are  nr'iwing 
up  around  the  five  centres,  which  are  also  tlie  seats  of  the  five  proposed  Presbyteries. 
Bear  this  in  mind  and  use  the  map,  and  the  field  will  come  into  distinct  order." 


THE    SYRIAN   MISSION.  139 

Tlie  list  of  publications  amounts  to  more  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  titles.  Orders  come  from  China,  India  and  Africa.  Of 
recent  works,  we  mention  one  on  Natural  Philosophy  by  Miss 
Jackson ;  Dr.  Van  Dyck  has  translated  the  Confession  of  Faith ; 
Dr.  Dennis  has  prepared  text-books  on  Scripture  Interpretation 
and  Systematic  Theology.  The  stereotype  plates  of  the  Arabic 
Bible  have  been  corrected  and  improved ;  and  the  sales  of  it 
continue  to  be  large. 

In  speaking  of  tlie  translation  of  the  Bible,  mention  was  made 
of  the  assistance  of  Bistany,  a  native  scholar.  His  death  in 
1^83,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  has  been  a  loss  to  Syria,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  Beirut  Church  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  original 
members  and  most  active  workers.  A  Maronite,  he  became  a 
convert  about  1840.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  most  learned, 
industrious  and  successful,  as  well  as  the  most  influential  man  of 
modern  Syria.  Chief  among  his  literary  labors  was  the  prepara- 
tion of  two  Arabic  Dictionaries,  and  of  an  Arabic  Encyclopedia. 
The  latter  is  in  twelve  volumes,  a  compilation  and  translation  from 
the  best  French,  English  and  American  works  with  additions. 
The  list  of  subscribers  to  this  work  embraces  many  prominent 
men ;  the  Viceroy  of  Egypt  is  down  for  five  hundred  sets. 

EDUCATIONAL.      1870-1885. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  wife  of  Bistany,  to  whom 
reference  has  just  been  made,  was  the  first  girl  taught  to  read  in 
Syria,  a  pupil  of  Mrs.  Sarah  H.  Smith.  Much  has  been  done 
since  that  day  in  the  department  of  education,  and  much  in  the 
time  now  before  us. 

Common  Schools. — These  are  schools,  in  connection  with  the 
several  stations,  where  at  least  reading  and  writing  are  taught, 
and  religious  instruction  given.  The  cost  of  maintaining  each  is 
small.  Each  such  school  supported  by  the  Mission  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  Protestantism  in  its  community.  The  number  of 
these  schools*  has  increased  from  35  in  1870,  with  nearly  1500 
pupils,  to  118,  with  nearly  5200  pupils,  of  whom  1400  are  girls. 
There  are  perhaps  an  equal  number  of  other  schools,  Moslem, 
Greek,  Maronite,  Druze  and  Jewish,  which  would  never  have 
existed  save  for  those  under  care  of  the  Mission.  For  these 
Mission  Schools  have  been  a  stimulus  and  model,  and  have 
also  furnished  many  teachers. 

*  The  figures  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
1884,  will  give  some  notion  of  how  these  common  schools  are  distributed:  Abeih,  12 
schools  and  520  pupils  ;  Sidon,  28  schools  and  1646  pupils;  Tripoli,  34  schools  and  1110 
pupils ;  Zahleh,  23  schools  and  1000  pupils. 


140  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

The  Abeih  Seminary. — The  Aheih  Seminary  for  youiifj  men  has 
fiirured  hirgely  in  the  history.  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  had  eharge  of 
it  ahnost  ever  since  it  was  begun,  in  1846,  prepared  a  history  of 
it  in  1M74.  It  had  had  .'iaO  students  drawn  IVoin  different  sects. 
l.")0  of  its  graduates  had  been  connected  with  mission  work. 
Many  were  tilling  important  phices  as  merchants,  editors,  trans- 
hitoi-s,  physicians,  etc.  Three  ordained  j)astors  were  among  the 
number.  Seventy  of  its  students  had  made  a  ])rofession  of  faith 
in  Christ.  Mr.  Calhoun  left  the  Seminary  in  1875,  and  Mr. 
Wood  was  transferred  to  Abeih  and  put  in  charge.  Somewhat 
later  it  seemed  that  the  work  accomplishe<l  by  this  Seminary 
might  better  be  done  by  the  preparatory  department  of  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College  at  lieirut.  In  accordance  with  this 
view  tlie  Seminary  was  closed  in  1877,  though  the  number  of 
pupils  had  never  been  so  large.  A  new  enterprise  connected 
with  this  Abeih  station  was  begun  in  1882.  A  boys'  school  at 
Sell wei fat  was  broken  up  by  a  rival  Greek  school.  The  teachers 
were  thereupon  transferred  to  Suk  el  Ghurb,  and  a  boarding- 
school  for  boys  opened  there.  It  began  with  34  pupils,  and  has 
prospered  from  that  time.  It  is  known  as  the  Training  School  at 
Suk  el  (ihurb. 

The  Tripoli  High  Sclwols. — In  1873  two  new  high  schools  were 
begun  at  Tripoli.  One  of  these  was  for  boys,  and  the  other  for 
girls.  The  former,  after  a  time  fell  off,  and  finally,  in  1882,  was 
broken  up  by  Greek  efforts  to  overcome  the  Protestant  influence. 
The  latter  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  was  made  a  boarding- 
school.  The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  bought  a  fine 
school  property  there  in  1876,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  It  luus  also 
since  put  uj)  a  new  building,  occupied  for  the  first  in  1882.  This 
school  has  thriven.  The  report  of  1885  speaks  of  the  first  Com- 
mencement with  nine  graduates.  Number  of  girls  in  the  higher 
department  about  forty. 

The  Girls'  School  at  Sidon. — The  object  of  this  has  been  mainly 
to  raise  up  female  helpers;  and  it  receives  as  boardere  only 
Protestant  girls,  who  perform  the  household  duties  of  the  institu- 
tion quite  after  the  Ilolyoke  plan.  The  nund)er  of  boarders  has 
n(jt  varied  much  for  several  years ;  it  is  about  forty.  Several 
years  since  the  building  was  enlarged  and  improved;  the  quarters 
for  day  scholars  are  at  present  too  strait ;  and  there  is  to  be  a 
new  building,  for  which  the  Woman's  Society  has  raised  the 
funds.  The  Society  supports  the  missionaries  in  charge,  j)ays 
the  salaries  of  five  assistant  teachers,  and  maintains  over  forty 
8cholarslii])s  in  this  school.  There  were  nine  graduates  in  1884. 
Many  of.  the  former  graduates  are  now,  or  have  been,  laboring  as 
teachers  at  different  stations  of  the  Mission ;  the  number  of  such 


THE   SYRIAN   MISSION.  141 

is  not  less  than  35.     The  last  year  of  the  school  was  one  of 
marked  religious  interest. 

The  Bedouin  School  at  Jedeideh. — In  this  same  Sidon  field 
there  is  a  new  claimant  for  interest.  From  the  mode  of  their  life 
the  wandering  Bedouin  are  necessarily  very  difficult  of  access  by 
evangelistic  effort.  In  1883  something  was  attempted  for  them 
by  opening  a  school  for  Bedouin  boys.  It  began  with  six  pupils. 
The  second  year  showed  an  advance  in  stability  and  resources. 
There  were  nine  pupils ;  and  their  living  expenses  were  borne  by 
the  native  churches. 

The  Female  Seminary  at  Beirut. — This  institution  continues  to 
be  one  of  the  chief  jewels  of  the  Mission.  It  has  held  on  its  way, 
having  a  great  influence  and  doing  a  great  work.  The  support 
of  it  was  assumed  in  1872  by  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  which  also  a  few  years  ago  bought  another  building  for 
use  of  the  school.  The  patronage  comes  from  all  quarters, 
Protestant,  Greek,  Catholic,  Maronite,  Jewish  and  Moslem.  The 
number  of  paying  pupils  has  steadily  increased.  Conversions 
are  not  confined  to  those  yet  in  school ;  in  1878  eight  of  those 
received  into  the  churches  were  former  inmates  of  the  Seminary. 

The  Theological  Seminary  at  Beirut. — This  school,  begun  at 
Abeih,  graduated  its  first  class  in  1871.  This  class  numbered 
five,  one  being  a  Druse  convert.  The  next  year,  no  suitable  class 
oflering,  the  institution  was  suspended.  It  was  re-opened  at 
Beirut  in  1874,  with  four  students.  Dr.  Dennis  took  charge 
of  it,  and  assisted  by  Drs.  Van  Dyck,  Jessup,  and  Eddy  has 
remained  in  charge.  The  number  of  students  varies,  but  is  never 
very  large.  In  the  last  class  there  were  four.  In  all  more  than 
30  young  men  have  enjoyed  its  advantages,  and  are  now  doing 
good  ser\ace  in  the  field.  Mainly  by  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Dennis 
the  money,  $20,000,  was  raised  for  a  building,  which  was  erected 
on  ground  given  by  the  Trustees  of  the  College.  It  was  dedi- 
cated December  18,  1883. 

The  Syrian  Protestant  College. — This  institution  has  not  disap- 
pointed the  promise  held  out.  Year  after  year  it  has  welcomed 
in  increasing  numbers  select  young  men  from  Syria  and  Egypt, 
and,  imparting  to  them  its  training,  has  been  sending  them  out 
to  be  in  their  respective  communities  what  educated  men  always 
are.  The  total  number  of  graduates  is  now  upward  of  125.  The 
scholarehip  fund  has  been  of  late  enlarged.  New  professors  have 
been  added.  The  course  of  study  has  been  extended,  and  the 
standard  raised.  Since  1879  the  English  language  has  been  the 
medium  of  instruction.  The  Medical  Department  has  been  espe- 
cially useftil  and  successftil.  It  is  a  testimony  to  its  importance 
that  in  1882  the  Jesuits  felt  it  advisable  to  antagonize  it  bv 


142  IIISTOUICAL  SKETCH   OF 

npoiiinj;  a  rival  to  it.  Tlie  prospect  of  the  CoUefjc  is  very 
l)ri«;lit  indeed.  An  unparalleled  religious  interest  has  lately  been 
reported  as  existing::  there,  and  over  40  of  the  students  have 
expressed  the  determination  to  live  for  Christ.  There  is  good 
ground  to  exj)oct  from  this  source  additions  to  the  native  ministry 
in  the  near  future. 

PREACniNG,  CHURCHES,  ETC.,  1870-1885. 

The  Aheih  field  has  suffered  from  emigration  as  has  no  other. 
It  wiis  overrun  by  Egyptian  refugees  in  1883,  of  whose  evil 
influence  mention  has  been  made.  There  has  been  more  or  less 
determined  opposition  at  various  points.  Nevertheless,  there  has 
been  advance  marked  by  gain  in  members,  incrciise  in  contribu- 
tions, and  healing  of  divisions.  Connected  with  the  station  there 
are  18  Sunday-schools,  22  preaching  places,  and  four  churches. 
Total  numl)er  of  communicants  238. 

Tripoli  station.  The  retrospect  for  15  years  is  on  the  whole 
very  encouraging,  cou-^'dering  that  in  this  region  the  strife  of 
sects  is  particularly  virulent.  A  carriage  road,  the  second 
in  Syria,  has  lately  been  opened  between  Tripoli,  Hums,  and 
Hamath,  75  miles  in  extent,  which  will  no  doubt  bring  about 
considerable  and  favoiable  changes.  It  is  reported  that  the 
Nusairiyeh  are  ready  lo  receive  instruction  of  late  as  never  before. 
The  station  lost  heavily  by  the  death  of  C.  W.  Calhoun,  M.  D.,  in 
18H3.  In  this  field  are  22  Sunday-schools,  15  preaching  places, 
and  over  200  communicants. 

Sidon  station  has  been  very  jirosperous  during  the  last  years. 
Divisions  here  have  been  healed,  and  numerous  additions  made 
including  many  who  are  children  of  Protestants.  It  is  noted 
that  the  new  members  prove  more  exemplary  than  those  of 
former  times.  Contributions  have  increiused,  and  have  been  made 
for  mission  work  in  China,  Africa  and  Polynesia.  There  are 
17  Sunday-schools,  25  preaching  places,  and  some  380  communi- 
cants. A  lot  has  been  bought  for  a  new  building  for  the  church 
in  Sidon. 

Zahleh  station,  as  has  been  noted,  was  begun  in  1872.  There 
has  been  much  opposition ;  nevertheless,  progress  hjis  been  rapid, 
and  on  a  gratifying  scale.  The  church  at  Zahleh  was  formed  in 
1<S73  with  eleven  members.  A  building  wjis  completed  in  1876. 
There  are  now  in  the  field  three  churches  and  150  communicants. 
The  work  has  recently  been  somewhat  crippled  by  the  absence  of 
one  of  the  missi(maries  and  sickness  of  another. 

In  Beirut  there  has  been  steady  advance.  The  oldest,  or 
Central,  Church   praspers.      A   beautiful   chajKjl,   built    at  the 


THE   SYRIAN    MISSION.  143 

expense  of  Mr.  and  IVIrs.  Henry  Dale,  of  New  York,  was  dedi- 
cated in  December  1880,  and  provides  needed  acconnnodation  for 
Sunday-school  work.  The  experiment  of  a  native  pastorate  was 
tried  for  a  little  while  in  1882,  but  without  success ;  and  Dr. 
Eddy  took  charge.  In  1874  steps  were  taken  toward  opening  a 
second  place  of  worship  in  the  city.  A  lot  in  the  eastern  part 
was  secured  and  a  building  erected  which  was  finished  in  1876. 
This  has  become  the  Eastern  Church.  It  was  at  first  under  care 
of  a  native  graduate  of  the  Seminary ;  but  Dr.  Dennis  after- 
wards took  it.  It  is  at  present  under  contemplation  to  occupy  a 
third  point  in  the  city.  As  preaching  is  maintained  also  in  the 
chapel  of  the  College,  this  will  make  four  regular  preaching 
places.  There  are  a"  thousand  Sunday-school  scholai-s  ;  and  the 
contributions  of  the  station  were  for  the  year  last  reported  S568. 
The  most  marked  feature  in  the  recent  history  of  the  station  is 
the  large  number  of  additions,  over  40  in  five  months  having 
lately  been  received.  The  work  of  the  station  includes  sewing 
classes,  women's  meetings,  and  the  services  of  two  colporteurs,  who 
visit  about  the  city  and  resort  to  the  khans,  or  lodging  stations, 
on  the  Damascus  road.  It  was  at  Beirut,  in  1871,  that  the  first 
Moslem  convert  of  the  Syrian  Mission  was  baptized. 

MEDICAL   WORK. 

It  is  interesting  that  this  should  become  a  feature  of  gospel 
work  in  the  land  once  trodden  by  the  Great  Physician.  The 
labors  of  Drs.  Post,  Van  Dyck  and  other  members  of  the  college, 
in  connection  with  the  hospital  at  Beirut  belonging  to  the 
Knights  of  St.  John  in  Berlin,  and  such  itinerations  as  those  of 
Dr.  C.  W.  Calhoun,  as  well  as  his  services  at  Tripoli,  and  those  of 
Dr.  Harris  now  there,  all  belong  to  the  present  period.  The 
medical  missionary  is  brought  into  favorable  contact  with  multi- 
tudes of  men,  and  enabled  to  commend  to  them  that  Gospel 
which  will  make  them  spiritually  whole.  In  the  last  year  of 
which  we  have  the  report,  the  Medical  Faculty  of  the  College 
treated  over  8000  cases. 

STATISTICS   OF   THE   MISSION   IN   GENERAL. 

The  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Missions  for  1885,  gives 
the  following  figures:  14  ordained  missionaries,  one  lay  physician, 
and  23  American  ladies  are  connected  with  the  Mission.  The 
native  Syrian  laborers  number  194.  There  are  19  organized 
churches  with  a  total  membership  of  1207.  There  are  76  Sunday- 
schools  with  nearly  3600  scholars ;  and  in  the  Mission  schools  of 


144  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

various  grades,  there  arc  nearly  6000  ])upils.  The  contributions 
of  the  native  churdies  for  the  year  amounted  to  $G302.  In  1876 
the  total  nienibei-sliip  of  the  churches  was  573. 

The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  supports  in  Syria 
nine  missionaries,  nine  native  teachers,  43  schools,  and  65 
scholarships. 

CONCLUSION. 

We  have  thus  glanced  at  the  two  periods  of  the  history :  the 
former  one  of  beginnings  and  of  foundation-work,  in  which  there 
was  indeed  need  of  faith  and  ])atience  because  results  were  so 
scanty;  the  latter  one  in  which  work  has  gone  on,  mainly  on  the 
foundations  already  laid,  and  in  whicli,  particularly  in  its  latter 
portion,  results  of  a  tangible  kind  have  been  so  nuich  greater  and 
more  immediate.  Ix)oking  to  Syria,  we  see  indeed  tliat  it  is  a 
land  "where  the  enemy  is  most  strongly  intrenched,  and  is 
making  a  desperate  stand;"  but  we  see  also  that  there  are  there 
already  thousands  of  children  in  Protestant  schools;  that  literary 
and  scientific  education  ha.s  been  given  to  many  young  men; 
that  the  tjiste  for  reading  has  been  formed  in  many  and  provision 
made  for  its  satisfaction;  that  native  teachers  and  physicians, 
trained  under  evangelical  infiuences,  are  making  themselves  felt 
at  many  points;  that  woman  is  rapidly  assuming  lier  projjcr 
place  in  social  life,  and  many  new  homes  of  ])urity  and  hapj>i- 
ness  are  formed  and  forming;  that  Protestant  communities  are 
growing,  and  congregations  are  increasing,  and  the  roll  of  com- 
municants lengthening.  No  doubt,  much  of  toil,  perhaps  of 
sorrow,  of  tribulation,  remains.  But  what  has  been  done  and 
gained  is  enough  to  confirm  even  a  feeble  faith  as  to  what  the 
outcome  must  be. 

In  view  of  our  Syrian  Mission  as  we  have  now  contemplated 
it,  we  may  ask  as  another  has  already  done:  "Is  it  not  a  work  of 
which  ])atriotism  alone  might  well  make  an  American  proud? 
The  name  of  his  country  has  been  made  a  synonym  in  the  East, 
not  for  political  aggression  and  intrigue  but  for  education,  truth 
and  religion.  And  the  American  Church  should  ofier  ])raise  to 
CJod  for  the  wonderful  works  which  He  hjis  wrought  in  our  time 
through  his  faithful  servants.  They  should  now  unite  in  prayer 
that  the  last  barrier,  the  iron  gate  of  Moslem  bigotry  and  intoler- 
ance, may  open  at  His  word,  and  give  liberty  for  evangelism 
among  the  Mohammedan  populations."* 

♦  Foreign  Missionary,  Dec.  1884,  p.  292. 


THE  SYRIAN   MSSSION. 


145 


Missionaries  in  Syria,  1885. 

Beirut  :— Rev.  Messrs.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck,  D.  D.,  M.  D.,  H. 
H.  Jessup,  D.  D.,  Wm.  W.  Eddy,  D.  D.,  James  S.  Dennis,  D.  D., 
Samuel  Jessup,  and  tlieir  wives;  Miss  Eliza  D.  Everett,  Miss 
Emilia  Thomson  and  Miss  Alice  S.  Barber. 

Abeih: — Rev.  Messrs.  Wm.  Bird  and  Then.  S.  Pond,  and 
their  wives ;  Mrs.  Emily  S.  Calhoun,  Miss  Emily  G.  Bird,  and 
Miss  Susie  H.  Calhoun. 

Sidon: — Rev.  Messrs.  Wm.  K.  Eddy  and  his  wife;  Rev. 
George  A.  Ford,  Miss  Hattie  M.  Eddy,  Miss  Charlotte  Brown 
and  Miss  Rebecca  Brown. 

Tripoli  : — Rev.  Messrs.  0.  J.  Hardin  and  F.  W.  March,  and 
Ira  Harris,  M.  D.,  and  their  ^vives ;  Miss  Harriet  La  Grange  and 
Miss  M.  C.  Holmes. 

Zahleh  : — Rev.  Messrs.  Gerald  F.  Dale  and  Wm.  M.  Greenlee, 
and  their  wives. 


FACULTY  OF  THE  SYRIAN  PROTESTANT  COLLEGE. 

Rev.  Daniel  Bliss,  D.  D.,  President ;  Rev.  George  E.  Post,  M.  D., 
Rev.  John  Wortabet,  M.  D.,  Rev.  Harvey  Porter,  B.  A.,  Charles 
F.  Dight,  M.  D.,  Thomas  W.  Kay,  M.  D.,  John  C.  Fisher,  M.  D., 
Robert  H.  West,  M.  A.,  F.  E.  Hoskins,  B.  A.,  Rev.  W.  W.  Martin, 
M.  A.,  Louis  F.  Giroux,  B.  A.,  Wm.  S.  Nelson,  B.  A.,  and  eight 
assistant  instructors. 


Missionaries  in  Syria,  1870-1881. 

'  Died,    t  Transferred  from  the  American  Board.    Figures,  Term  of  Service  in  the  Field. 


Barber,  Miss  Alice  S.,  1885- 

Bird,  Rev.  William.t  1853- 

Bird,  Mrs.,  1853- 

Bird,  Miss  E.,  1879- 

Brown,  Miss  Charlotte,  1885- 

Brown,  Miss  Rebecca,  1885- 

*Calhoun,  Rev.  S.  H.,t  1843-1876 

Calhoun,  Mrs.,  1843- 

«Calhoun,  C.  W.  (M.  D.),  1879-1883 

Calhoun,  Miss  S.  H.,  1879- 


Cundall,  Miss  F.,  1879-1883 

Dale,  Rev.  G.  F.,  1872- 

Dale,  Mrs.  (Miss  M.  Bliss),  1879- 

*Danforth,  G.  B.  (M.D.),  1871-1875 

*Danforth,  Mrs.,  1871-1881 

Dennis,  Rev.  James  S.,t  1867- 

Dennis,  Mrs.,  1872- 

Eddy,  Rev.  W.  W.,t  1852- 

Eddy,  Mrs.,  1852- 

Eddy,  Rev.  W.  K.,  1878- 


146 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF   THE   SYRIAN    MISSION. 


EJilv,  Mrs.  W.K.  (Miss  B 

M.  Nelsou,  1881-), 

1884- 

Kddy,  Miss  H.  M., 

1875- 

Everett,  Miss  K.  D.,t 

1868- 

Fisher,  Miss  II.  M., 

1873-1875 

Ford,  Mrs.  M.  P., 

1881- 

Ford,  Miss  Sarah  A., 

1883-1885 

Ford,  Rev.  G.  A., 

1880- 

Greenlee,  Rev.  W.  M., 

1884- 

Greenlee,   Mrs,   (Miss   E. 

Bird) 

1879- 

Hardin,  Rev.  0.  J., 

1871- 

Hanlin,  Mrs., 

1871- 

Harris,  Ira,  (M.D.) 

1884- 

Iloliue-s,  Miss  M.  C, 

1884- 

Jackson,  Miss  Ellen 

1870-1884 

Jessup,  Rev.  II.  II. ,t 

1856- 

•Jessup,  Mrs., 

1856. 

♦Jessup,  Mrs., 

1881. 

Jessup,  Mrs., 

1884- 

Jessup,  Rev.  Samuelf 
Jessup,  Mrs., 
Johnston,  Rev.  W.  L., 
Johnston,  Mrs., 
Kipp,  Miss  M., 
La  Grange,  Miss  H., 
Loring,  5liss  S.  B., 
Lyons,  Miss  M.  M., 
March,  Rev.  F.  W., 
March,  Mrs., 
Pond,  Rev.  T.  S., 
Pond,  Mrs., 
Thomson,  Rev.  W.  M. 
♦Thomson,  Mrs., 
Thomson,  Miss  E., 
Van  Dyck,  Rev.  C.  V. 
Van  Dyck,  Mrs., 
Van  Dyck,  Miss  L., 
*Wood,  Rev.  F.  A., 
Wood,  Mrs., 


1863- 

1863- 

1879-1880 

1879-1880 

1872-1875 

1876- 

1870-1873 

1877-1880 

1873- 

1880- 

1873- 

1873- 
,t       183.3-1877 

1833-1873 

1876- 
A.,t  1840- 

1840- 

1875-1879 

1871-1878 

1871-1878 


Books  of  Reference. 

Bible  Work  in  Bible  Lands.     Rev.  I.  Bird.    $1.50. 

Five  Years  in  Damascus.     J.  L.  Porter,  D.D.,  LL.  D.    $3.75. 

Romance  of  Missions,  The.     Maria  A.  West,    $2.50. 

Svrian  Home  Life.     H.  II.  Jessup,  D.  D.     90  cents. 

Tent  Life  in  the  Holy  Land.     W.  C.  Prime.    $2.00. 

Women  of  the  Arabs,  The.     H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D.    $2.00. 

Dan  to  Beersheba.     Newman.    $1.50. 

The  East :  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land.    Spencer.    $2.00. 

The  Land  andthe  Book.  Thomson.  2  vols.  $5.00.  Re-written,  in  3  vols. 
Harpers. 

Van  Lennep's  Bible  Lands.    $5.00. 

Land  of  Israel.     Tristram.'   $8.00. 

The  Ride  through  Palestine.     Rev.  John  W.  Dulles,  D.  D.    $2.00. 

Stanley's  Sinai  and  Palestine. 

Robin-son's  Biblical  Researches  in  Syria  and  Palestine.     3  vols. 

Anderson's  (Dr.  Rufus)  Missions  of  the  American  Board.  Vol.  Oriental 
Churches. 

Jessup's  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem. 


i 


tVMn, 


BY 

Rev.  J.  MILTON  GREENE. 


I 


Js-thoiiis' 


THE  MISSION  IN  PERSIA. 


The  Gospel  of  God's  salvation  for  the  human  race  is  preached 
aojain  in  these  later  days  in  the  land  where  the  race  had  its  origin. 
Where  first  was  heralded  the  promise  of  deliverance  from  sin,  is 
now  preached  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  in  a  personal  and 
Almighty  Saviour.  The  origin,  growth  and  present  condition  of 
the  Persia  Mission  will  be  best  understood  from  a  consideration 
of  the  following  points :  I.  The  Country  ;  II.  The  Government ; 
III.  The  People;  IV.  What  has  been  done  ;  V.  The  Outlook. 

I. — The  Country. 

Persia  is  notably  a  Bible  land.  To  it  belonged  Cyrus  the 
Great,  Darius,  his  son  Xerxes  (the  Ahasuerus  of  Ezra),  Artax- 
erxes,  Esther,  Mordecai,  and  the  wise  men  who  were  the  first  of 
the  Gentile  world  to  greet  and  Avorship  the  Messiah.  When 
Assyria  had  led  the  Jews  captive  to  Babylon,  it  was  Pereia  that 
humbled  that  power  and  restored  Judah  to  her  native  land. 
With  her  people  the  lost  tribes  mingled  and  coalesced.  Of  the 
former  magnificence  and  splendor  of  this  kingdom  one  may  even 
now  gain  some  faint  impression  by  a  visit  to  the  wonderful  ruins 
of  Persepolis,  "  where  neither  the  ravages  of  twenty  centuries 
nor  the  avariciousness  and  indifference  to  the  beautiful,  of  an 
Alexander  has  been  able  to  obliterate  the  vestiges  of  their  former 
vastness,  costlinesss  and  grandeur.  A  sight,  merely  of  those 
silent  marble  columns  and  immense  slabs,  whose  carvings  are  so 
chaste  and  exquisite,  fills  one  Avith  amazement  and  awe."  Be- 
neath the  surface  of  her  territory,  too,  sleep  the  ruins  of  grand 
old  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  destined,  no  doubt,  to  yield  to  coming 
explorers  many  another  precious  secret  of  their  ancient  life, 
which  shall  be  also  a  confirmation  of  the  Scriptures. 

Unlike  most  of  our  mission  fields,  Persia  has  no  seaboard ; 
[though  a  part  of  it  borders  on  the  Caspian  on  the  north,  and  a 
part  of  it  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  on  the  south.]  It  is  from  its 
location  isolated,  and  must  remain  so  until  traversed  by  rail- 
ways, an  innovation  which  English  capital  and  enterprise  seem 
likely  soon  to  effect.  At  present  the  nearest  point  that  can 
7  149 


150  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

be  reachcHl  l)y  rail  is  TiHis,  two  luiiidrcd  iiiiks  from  the  IVrs^ian 
border.  Between  the  two  rival  empires  of  British  India  and  the 
Russian  possessions,  on  the  hi<rhway  between  Euroi)e  and  Asia, 
IVi-sia  sits  entrenched. 

The  area  of  modern  Persia,  th(ju<rh  only  a  fraction  of  the  an- 
cient empire,  is  still  large.  It  extends  nine  hundred  miles  from 
east  to  west,  and  seven  hundred  miles  from  north  to  south,  em- 
braeing  about  six  hundred  and  forty-eight  thousand  scjuare 
miles  of  territory.  Three-tjuartei-s  of  this  is  desert;  and  nuieli 
of  the  remainder — even  of  those  parts,  which,  like  the  country 
along  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  and  on  the  western  border,  is 
exceedingly  fertile — is  but  sparsely  inliabited. 

The  basin  of  Lake  Oroomiah  is  a  splendid  region  of  country, 
being  well  watered,  having  a  climate  and  soil  hardly  excelled  by 
any  spot  upon  the  globe,  and  producing  in  perfection  almost 
every  product  of  the  temperate  zone.  On  the  Persian  (Julf  it  is 
low%  sandy  and  very  hot.  Along  the  Caspian  Sea  we  have  a  re- 
gion tropical  in  its  fruits  and  verdure.  Elsewhere  the  kingdom 
presents  an  immense  plateau,  with  pure  and  bracing  air,  with 
mountains  breaking  up  the  surface  in  all  directions,  with  occa- 
sional beautiful  valleys  and  vast  salt  deserts.  Though  on  the 
whole  so  poor  a  country,  dry  and  thirsty,  j)arched  by  the  drought 
in  summer  and  desolate  in  winter  and  uninviting  to  strangers,  it 
is  neverthelesss  passionately  loved  by  the  Pei^sians.  To  them  it 
is  the  land  par  excellence.  A  thousand  bards  chant  its  praises  as 
"  the  land  of  the  rose  and  the  nightingale,  the  paradise  of  the 
earth." 

II. — The  Government. 

This  takes  the  form  of  an  absolute  monarchy.  The  king, 
who  is  called  the  Shah,  is  restrained  by  no  constitutional  or 
legal  checks,  and  can  even  put  to  death  any  of  his  subjects  at 
will.  So,  also,  the  governments  of  the  twenty-five  provinces  into 
which  the  realm  is  divided,  and  the  high  officials  of  all  classes, 
exercise  almost  absolute  poAver ;  the  Shah  being  indifferent  so 
long  as  he  realizes  his  yearly  revenue  of  about  eight  million 
dollars.  Such  a  despotism,  and  the  consequent  insecurity  of 
life  and  projierty,  combined  with  the  fact  that  the  villages  are 
owned  for  the  most  part  by  noblemen,  who  become  responsible  to 
the  Shah  for  the  taxes,  and  who  practice  the  most  cruel  extor- 
tions, fiirnish  abundant  explanation  of  the  slow  advancement 
made  by  the  country,  notwithstanding  the  intelligence  and  in- 
dustry of  the  people.  All  offices  are  obtained  by  bribery,  to 
which  even  the  judges  are  studiously  blind.  These  the  poor  and 
lowly  ask  in  vain  for  justice.     Torture  is  in  general  use  as  a 


THE    MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  151 

means  to  extort  testimony.  Such  barbarous  punishments  as  the 
bastinado  and  mutilation  of  the  body  are  regularly  i)racticed. 
In  a  word,  the  government,  instead  of  covering  the  people  with 
the  shield  of  its  protection  and  fostering  among  them  all  efforts 
at  self-improvement,  renders  all  thrift  and  elevation  impossible 
and  shuts  them  up  to  a  dreary  monotony  of  degradation  and 
misery.  Says  one  of  our  missionary  ladies,  "  The  prime  cause 
of  all  the  wretchedness  lies  in  the  ignorant  priesthood,  and  the 
government  dead  to  everything  except  extortion.  I  don't  think 
it  possible  for  people  at  home  to  understand  that  there  is  no  in- 
vestment of  capital  in  manufactures  of  any  description,  no 
forests,  no  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron  or  coal,  open  and 
employing  labor  ;  no  railroads  to  furnish  employment,  no  turn- 
pikes or  public  highways  for  vehicles,  no  public  vehicles  of  any 
kind,  no  wagons,  no  canals,  no  shipping,  no  printing  presses,  no 
public  charities  nor  private  either,  no  poor-houses  nor  orphan 
asylums,  or  asylums  of  any  kind,  no  hospitals ;  but  all  the 
widows  and  orphans,  and  old  and  blind  and  lame  and  dumb  and 
insane,  are  turned  into  the  streets." 

III. — The  People. 

It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  in  the  modern  inhabitants  of 
Persia,  the  direct  descendants  of  the  ancient  Medes  and  Persians, 
we  have  the  original  of  the  Japhetic  stock.  The  Europeans  and 
Hindoos  have  immigrated,  but  these  have  remained  by  the  ances- 
tral home.  And  so  it  is  not  strange  that  they  pronounce  the 
words  "  father,"  mother,"  "  brother,"  "  daughter,"  in  very  much 
the  same  accents  as  we  do. 

Physically,  Persians  are  among  the  very  noblest  specimens  of 
the  human  race — "  manly  and  athletic,  of  full  medium  stature, 
fine  forms,  regular  Caucasian  features,  complexion  dark,  hair 
abundant  and  black  ;  well-formed  head  ;  eyes  large,  dark,  lustrous ; 
features  regular  and  serious ;  beard  floAving ;  a  broad-breasted, 
large-limbed,  handsome  person,  with  carriage  erect,  dignified  and 
graceful."  Now,  as  in  the  days  of  Esther,  they  are  fond  of  dress 
and  show,  being  courtly  also  and  polite,  and  even  convivial;  but, 
though  "  luxurious  in  their  tastes,  they  are  yet  hardy  and  tem- 
perate, enduring  privation  with  patience,  living  much  in  the  open 
air,  delighting  in  the  horse  and  chase  and  abhorring  the  sea." 

Intellectually,  the  Persians  are  quick  of  perception,  fond  of 
discussion,  imaginative,  with  a  fine  memory,  showing  aptitude  for 
the  sciences  and  for  the  various  mechanical  arts.  They  are 
exceedingly  shrewd  and  correct  in  their  observation  of  men  and 
things,  hospitable  to  foreigners,  by  whose  knowledge  they  seek  to 


152  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

{)rutit  in  jxenuine  Yankee  style,  and  among  the  higher  chisses,  at 
east,  a  literary  i)eople,  "si)eeulative,  marvellously  acute  and 
subtle  in  dialectics.  They  are  a  nation  of  poet><  and  j)oetry- 
lovers.  The  minstrel  in  every  village  is  often  thronged  with 
imjnxssioned  crowds.  Modern  Persia  is  in  that  state  of  culture 
in  which  minstrel  ])()etry  is  the  passion  of  all  chisscs,  and  quota- 
tions are  ever  falling  from  the  lips  of  even  the  rudest  peiisants 
and  sliephcnls." 

As  to  the  social  condition  of  the  ma.ss  of  the  people,  much 
may  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  said  of  the  government. 
Their  condition  is  one  of  serfdom.  They  are  regarded  as  belong- 
ing to  the  soil,  and  when  a  village  changes  owners  the  peoj)le  are 
transferred  with  it  to  tlie  new  master.  Practically  it  is  well  nigh 
impossible  for  a  poor  oppressed  man  to  escape  with  his  family 
from  one  village  to  another  in  the  hope  of  bettering  his  con- 
dition. The  extortions  practiced  are  oftentimes  pitiless.  The 
serf-like  tenant  "  is  not  permitted  to  furnish  his  own  seed,  but  for 
the  tillage  and  irrigation,  teams,  implements,  harvesting  and 
garnering,  he  receives  one-third  of  the  crop,  often  but  a  fourth, 
from  which  he  is  to  pay  his  taxes  and  feed  a  set  of  hungry  ser- 
vants of  the  master,  employed  to  oversee  the  ingathering  of  the 
crops.  Often  too  the  master  takes  up  his  abode  for  the  summer 
in  his  village,  laying  the  poor  serfs  under  contribution  to  main- 
tain himself  and  family,  servants  and  horses."  It  is  not  strange 
that  under  such  grinding  tyranny  famine  should  so  often  visit  the 
land  and  sweep  off  the  people  by  the  tens  of  thousands.  The 
only  wonder  is  that  a  people  thus  downtrodden  and  crushed  have 
preserved  any  traces  of  noble  ambition,  and  have  not  long  since 
yielded  to  utter  discouragement  and  demoralization. 

As  to  their  houses,  we  are  told  that  the  average  dwelling  of 
the  peasant  "  consists  of  a  single  apartment,  built  round  with 
walls  of  earth  and  with  earthen  floor,  while  the  roof  is  a  mass  of 
the  same  material  supported  by  beams  and  pillars.  The  tandour, 
or  oven,  is  a  deep  hole  in  the  centre  where  all  cooking  is  done, 
with  dried  manure  tor  fuel :  the  acrid  smoke  fairly  glistens  on  the 
walls.  A  hole  above  answers  for  chimney  and  window.  In  this 
one  room  all  work,  eat  and  sleep,  usually  three  or  four  genera- 
tions under  a  patriarchal  system."  Strange  conditions  these, 
surely,  under  which  to  foster  intellectual  life  and  poetical  genius, 
and  courtliness  of  manner! 

But  the  darkest  feature  of  their  social  life  appears  in  the  place 
and  treatment  generally  accorded  to  the  women.  "  Man  is  the 
tyrant  and  wonuin  the  drudge  of  all,  doing  the  hardest  work 
without  sympathy  or  love,  in  the  midst  of  fretjuent  brawls, 
expecting  beatings,  and  ready,  when  opiwrtunities  offer,  to  return 


THE    MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  153 

bitter  oaths,  and  revilings."  Any  traveller  in  this  region  will 
see  that  the  wives  and  niothei's  and  daughters  are  put  upon  the 
same  level,  for  the  most  part,  as^beasts  of  burden. 

You  can  see  them  in  the  mountains  carrying  heavy  loads  ujion 
their  backs,  with  scarcely  strength  enough  to  drag  one  foot  after 
another  ;  while  just  behind  them,  mounted  uj)on  his  ox  or  donkey, 
rides  the  brutal  husband  or  father — here  called  "  lord  " — taking 
his  ease  and  enjoying  his  j)ipe.  Bufihloes  and  oxen  are  cared 
for  with  far  more  tenderness  than  wives,  and  have  a  money  value 
far  exceeding  theirs.  Girls  are  not  considered  as  worth  educat- 
ing, but  grow  up  in  wild  ignorance,  having  no  higher  ambition 
than  to  be  married  at  an  early  age  (twelve  to  fifteen)  and  to  be 
the  mothers  of  large  families  of  sons.  The  language  knows  no 
such  Avords  as  home  and  wife,  but  only  house  and  ivoman.  And 
to  such  ignorant,  debased,  grovelling  creatures  have  been  given 
for  centuries  the  entire  care  and  nurture  of  the  Persian  youth 
during  all  the  formative  and  most  important  period  of  their 
lives.  How  truly  man  must  be  above  the  brute  by  nature,  to 
retain  any  traces  of  the  divine  image  despite  such  ancestral 
influence ! 

RELIGIONS  OF  PERSIA, 

But  if  we  would  be  intelligent  as  to  the  real  causes  of  the 
physical  and  moral  needs  of  this  interesting  people,  we  must 
glance  at  the  religions  of  Persia,     These  are/orw  in  number, 

1.  The  faith  of  Zoroaster. — This  Avas  the  dominant  religion  of 
Persia  from  very  early  times  until  the  conquests  of  Mohammed,  in 
641  A.D.  It  carries  us  back  to  the  time  when  the  Japhetic  race 
was  still  one  family  on  the  plains  of  Persia,  before  the  Hindoo 
movement  had  begun  to  set  up  A^eda  Avorship  in  the  East,  and 
before  the  various  tribes  Avhich  peopled  Europe  had  started  on 
their  westward  course.  One  may  feel  an  intense  desire  to  know 
what  was  the  faith  of  that  early  day,  Avhen  the  ancestors  of  so 
many  mighty  and  distant  nations  still  formed  but  one  family  and 
spoke  one  language.  Says  Dr.  J.  H.  Shedd,  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  much  in  this  sketch,  "  there  is  much  to  show  that  it 
was  the  worship  of  the  one  living  and  true  God.  Such  are  the 
breathings  of  the  earliest  hymns  of  the  Zendavesta,  and  such  all 
the  oldest  religious  monuments  of  the  Persians  attest.  The  high 
priest  and  sage  of  this  religion  Avas  called  zarathrtista,  a  Avord 
taken  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  to  be  a  proper  name,  and 
changed  to  Zoroaster.  This  purest  form  of  Avorship  Avas  gradually 
corrupted,  A  dualism  grcAv  up  Avhich  gave  to  an  evil  principle  a 
part  of  the  poAvers  of  deity  ;  AVorship  of  fire  and  the  heavenly 


154  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

bodies  followed.  The  occult  sciences  of  the  maiji  and  the  cor- 
ru|)t  mysteries  of  Bahylon  were  <rrafted  on,  so  that  the  rclifiion 
of  the  Persians  in  the  time  of  Cyrus  and  Esther  was  different 
from  tlie  original.  It  was  an  intermixture  of  idolatry  with  the 
worshij)  of  the  God  of  heaven.  Still,  the  Persian  faith  was  the 
purest  found  outside  of  divine  revelation.  As  the  Hebrew 
among  the  Semitic  races,  the  Persian  among  the  Japhetic,  alone 
was  found  faithful  in  keeping  the  C'reator  above  the  creature. 
It  distinguished  the  evil  from  the  good,  and  referred  the  origin 
of  evil  to  a  wicked  spiritual  enemy.  The  war  waged  against 
this  evil  was  real,  earnest,  unceasing,  and  to  result  in  victory. 
It  predicted  that  a  Saviour  sliould  come  at  la.«!t  to  abolish  death 
and  raise  the  dead.  And  it  is  instructive  to  observe  how  this 
fidelity,  though  so  imperfect,  was  acknowledged  of  Jehovah. 
The  prophets  are  commissioned  to  utter  denunciation,  captivity, 
desolation  or  complete  destruction  upon  Egypt,  Tyre,  Syria, 
Nineveh,  Babylon  and  the  smaller  nations  surrounding  Pales- 
tine. Persia  is  a  marked  exception.  Two  hundred  years  before 
the  event,  the  Lord  predicted  the  birth  of  Cyrus  by  name,  call- 
ing him  His  anointed,  shepherd,  servant  (Isaiah  41 :  25-28  and 
44 :  28).  He  was  raised  up  to  be  the  deliverer  of  the  Jews,  to 
subdue  their  oppressors,  to  restore  them  to  their  native  land, 
'  saying  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  built,  and  to  the  temple, 
Tliy  foundation  shall  be  laid." 

"  Cyrus  fully  acknowledged  his  commission  in  the  edict  2  Chron. 
36  :  23 — '  Thus  saith  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  All  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth  hath  the  Lord  God  of  heaven  given  me ;  and  hath 
charged  me  to  build  him  a  house  in  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah.' 
God  counted  the  jNIonotheistic  Persians  as  most  worthy  to  rebuild 
his  temple  and  befriend  his  people  ;  and  while  all  the  other  nation- 
alities of  Bible  times  have  lost  their  existence,  the  finger  of  the 
Lord  hath  traced  the  bounds  of  Pei-sia  and  preserved  the  nation 
and  the  race." 

This  hoary  system  continued  to  be  the  ruling  faith  of  Persia 
until,  about  630  a.  d.,  the  Persian  emperor  was  bidden  by  "the 
camel-driver  of  Mecca"  to  renounce  his  ancestral  religion  and 
embrace  the  faith  of  the  one  true  God,  whose  proj>het  Mohammed 
declared  himself  to  be.  The  monarcli,  justly  indignant,  scorned 
the  message  and  drove  the  massengers  from  his  presence ;  but  ere 
ten  years  had  ])assed,  the  fiery  hordes  of  Arabia  had  driven  the 
king  from  his  throne,  and  within  ten  centuries  the  Mohammedan 
religion  had  dis])laced  in  Persia  the  honored  faith  of  Zarathrusta. 
The  only  adherents  of  the  system  now  left  are  some  five  thousand 
souls  in  Yezd,a  city  of  Persia,  and  one  hundred  thousand  Parsees 
in  Bombay. 


THE   MISSION    IN   PERSIA.  155 

2.  3fohammedanism.-^T\\\s  is  the  faith  which  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years  has  swayed  and  cursed  the  millions  of  Persia.  It 
has  existed  under  two  forms — as  the  orthodox  or  Sunnee  system 
imtil  1492  A.  I).,  and  since  that  time  as  the  heterodox  or  Sheah 
system,  the  peculiarity  of  which  is  that  it  regards  Ali,  the  son-in- 
law  and  cousin  of  Mohammed,  as  having  been  the  only  proper  heir 
and  successor  of  the  proj)het,  instead  of  Abubekcr,  Omar  and  Os- 
man,  who  are  regarded  by  the  Sunnees  as  the  rightful  vicars  of 
the  prophet.  It  is  wonderful  with  what  devotion  and  even  fanat- 
icism the  Persian  Mohammedans  have  championed  the  cause  of  the 
long-dead  son-in-law.  He  is  the  centre  of  their  system  and  the  life 
of  their  creed.  In  their  call  to  prayer  they  say  "  Mohammed  is 
the  prophet  of  God,  and  Ali  the  vicar  of  God."  This  breach  from 
the  regular  faith,  now  cherished  for  four  hundred  years,  has  pro- 
duced much  contention  between  the  Turks  and  the  Persians,  and 
is  likely  to  be  a  fruitful  cause  of  fresh  quarrels  in  the  years  to 
come.  The  situation  suggests  to  Dr.  Shedd's  mind  the  remark 
that  "  Persia  is  the  weak  point  of  Mohammedanism,"  for  the  follow- 
ing reasons:  (1)  Because  the  Persians  themselves  are  sectaries — 
not  the  defenders  of  the  orthodox  faith,  as  are  the  Turks,  Arabs 
and  Tartars,  but  the  enemies  of  it.  They  turn  for  sympathy  and 
aid  to  Christians  rather  than  to  their  rival  sect ;  and,  being  branded 
as  heretics  by  the  Sunnees,  they  are  more  accessible  to  the  Chris- 
tian missionary  than  other  Moslems.  (2)  As  a  people,  the  Per- 
sians are  more  liberal  and  tolerant  than  the  other  Mohammedan 
nations.  Practically  there  is  more  religious  liberty  to-day  in  Persia 
than  in  Turkey,  notwithstanding  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  latter  country  by  Christian  nations.  It  is  an  almost  unheard-of 
thing  for  an  Arab  or  a  Turk  to  discuss  his  religion  with  a  Chris- 
tian; but  the  Persian  invites  it  and  enjoys  it,  and  will  listen 
patiently  to  all  you  can  allege  with  reason  against  his  religion  or 
in  behalf  of  your  own,  where  he  is  not  in  dread  of  the  mullah  or 
priest.  And  the  government,  while  nominally  pledged  to  support 
Mohammedanism,  yet  so  far  shares  this  spirit  of  toleration  as  to 
wink  at  irregularities  in  its  subjects.  (3)  It  must  be  remembered 
that  in  Persia  the  Moslem  system  is  divided  against  itself  more 
than  in  any  other  land.  The  people  originally  received  it  under 
compulsion,  at  the  hands  of  their  conquerors,  and  with  a  vigorous 
protest ;  and  they  have  never  been  content  under  it.  New  heret- 
ical sects  arise  from  time  to  time,  which  are  as  fierce  in  their  op- 
position to  each  other  as  though  they  were  adherents  of  entirely 
different  systems.  During  the  last  thirty  years  the  whole  body  of 
Moslems  has  been  convulsed  by  the  new  religion  of  the  Bub,  and 
immense  numbers  are  adherents  of  a  mystical  faith  which  ante- 
dates the  introduction  of  Islamism. 


156  iirsTonirAL  sKinx'ii  of 

Writinp^  under  tlie  (late  of  Jmuiarv,  1881,  Dr.  Sliedd  say^, 
"The  iii(K>n  just  ]):L-it  wius  tlie  Moslem  month  of  Moharreni.  The 
first  ten  duy:>  (»f  this  nutiith  are  devottnl  to  the  Pei"sian  pjission 
phiv,  tlie  tra^nly  of  Hus<eim.  It  is  the  faiiatii-al  stuisoii  of  the 
tSheah)i.  It  was  inevitahle,  in  such  a  wur  of  relijrious  seets,  that 
the  worst  passions  should  he  roused.  8heahs  were  killinj^  Hunnees, 
and  Sunnees  Sheahs,  jvs  if  either  party  were  wild  heasts.  The 
Sunnees  were  all  driven  out  of  tlie  country  or  killed,  exeej)t  a 
few  who  changed  their  form  of  I'aith."  And  (4)  we  need  to 
add  to  these  considerations  oidy  one  other  to  demonstrate  the 
weakness  of  Mohammedanism  in  Persia.  This  is  the  utter  failure 
of  the  system,  durinj^  all  these  twelve  liundred  years,  to  do 
anything;  for  the  jieojde  except  to  curse  them.  It  oHlrs  no 
solace  for  life's  woes ;  it  knows  no  sympathy  or  charity.  Its 
priesthood  are  vile  and  profli<rate  and  rapacious.  It  knows  no 
God  except  a  metajihysical  conception,  cold  and  lifeless.  It  de- 
nies the  Trinity,  the  liihle,  the  incarnation,  and  fosters  directly 
formalism,  self-rijxhteousncss  and  pride.  It  knows  no  heaven  ex- 
cept an  ahode  of  the  jrrossest  sensual  pleasures,  and  rej)resents 
hell  as  consisting  of  the  most  exaf;f!:crate(l  material  tortures. 
Thus  it  has  simply  oj)pressed  and  dcf^^radetl  the  people,  so  that 
they  are  open  to  discreet  missionary  vfl'ort  heyond  any  other 
Moslem  })oj)ulation,  and  results  have  heen  realized  from  the 
limited  work  done  amouir  them,  alto<::ether  heyond  expectation. 
It  should  be  added  that  while  the  mass  of  the  people  in  Persia 
proper  are  Mohammedans  of  the  f^heah  sect,  there  are  in  the 
mission  field,  which  extends  somewhat  into  Turkey  on  the  west, 
over  a  million  of  Koords  and  Moslems  who  speak  the  Koord- 
ish  and  Turkish  dialects,  and  belong  to  the  Sunnee  sect  of 
Moslems. 

3.  The  Nesioricms. — Tliese  are  an  ancient  Christian  .'•ect  who 
take  their  name  from  Nestorius,  a  patriarch  of  the  filth  century, 
and  who  followed  him  in  rejecting  the  statement  that  "  Maiy  was 
the  mother  of  God,"  going  so  far  in  this  direction  as  to  teach 
a  doul)le  personality  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Originally  they 
dwelt  for  the  most  part  in  the  north  of  Persia,  and  were  far  more 
nun  erous  than  now;  but  the  bloody  Tamerlane,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  rushed  down  from  Tartary  u})on  them  with  his  ruthless 
hordes  and  nearly  annihilated  them.  Their  churches  were  de- 
molished, their  sacred  books  and  literature  destroyed,  the  rivers 
ran  red  with  their  blood,  and  only  a  remnant  of  them  were 
spared.  These  cscajicd  to  the  fastnesses  of  the  Koordish  moun- 
tains, where  they  dwelt  among  the  wild  tribes,  built  their  rude 
churches  and  worshi])ped  after  the  manner  of  their  fathers. 
Later,  many  of  them  ventured  down  ujnm  the  plains  of  Persia, 


THE   MISSION   IN   PERSIA.  157 

where  they  have  since  lived,  remaining,  when  practicable,  in 
villages  by  themselves,  but  sometimes  obliged  to  mingle  with  the 
Mohammedans  and  to  accept  a  position  of  inferiority  to  these. 
After  such  persecutions,  with  their  literature  all  destroyed,  and 
their  few  remaining  books  in  manuscript,  and  these  written  in  the 
ancient  Syriac  tongue — a  dead  language  which  only  their  priests 
and  deacons  can  read — this  old  Church  has  yet  maintained  the 
primitive  faith  in  far  greater  purity  than  any  other  Oriental 
Church,  They  have  clung  to  their  Bibles  with  a  desperate  tenac- 
ity, and  reverence  them  as  the  very  word  of  God.  They  tolerate 
no  pictures  or  images,  n;)  crucifixes  or  confessionals,  or  worship- 
ping of  the  Host ;  but  the  masses  of  the  people  are  very  ignorant 
and  degraded  and  superstitious,  leaving  the  care  of  their  souls  for 
the  most  part  to  the  priests,  and  having  no  just  conception  of  the 
character  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  look  upon  His  minis- 
try simply  as  that  of  a  teacher,  and  see  in  His  tragic  death  only  a 
martyr's  end.  These  number  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand in  all.  A  few  of  them  have  gone  to  Russia ;  about  thirty 
thousand  of  them  dwell  in  the  plain  of  Oroomiah,  while  the  rest 
inhabit  the  Koordish  mountains  or  extend  westward  into  the 
valley  of  the  Tigris. 

The  Church  of  Rome  has  been  unremitting  in  her  efforts  to 
proselyte  the  Nestorians,  and  has  been  so  far  successful  as  to  have 
gained  over  some  fifty  thousand — who,  however,  refuse  to  receive 
the  Latin  language  or  liturgy,  will  not  accept  the  celibacy  of 
the  clergy,  and  since  the  Vatican  Council,  have  come  to  an  open 
rupture  with  the  papal  power.* 

4.  The  Armenians. — Like  the  Nestorians,  the  Armenians  are 
an  ancient  Christian  sect,  and  in  several  districts  are  mingled 
with  them.  They  number  about  sixty  thousand,  and  are  found, 
for  the  most  part,  in  ancient  Armenia,  with  Tabriz  as  their  centre. 
Mr.  Eli  Smith,  in  his  "  Researches,"  concludes  that  as  the  Chris- 
tian Church  had  become  corrupt  in  the  fourth  century,  and  was 
content  with  a  mere  profession  of  certain  theological  dogmas  and 
with  a  round  of  ceremonial  observances,  so  the  Armenian  Church, 
being  converted  at  that  time  to  the  forms  of  Christianity,  has  ad- 
hered to  these  ever  since,  knowing  almost  nothing  of  vital  relig- 
ion. "They  adhere  to  the  seven  sacraments  of  the  Romish 
Church,  perform  baptism    by  trine    immersion,  believe  in   the 

*  It  is  an  interesting  fast  that  this  ancient  church  was,  at  least  in  the  eighth 
century,  a  missionary  church  with  widely  extended  influence.  In  China  in  the 
province  of  Shinsi  some  years  since  a  tablet  was  discovered  which  gives  a  brief 
history  of  the  coming  of  Nestorian  missionaries  to  China,  and  their  favorable 
reception  by  the  emperor.  For  several  centuries  their  influence  continued,  but 
"  persecutions  and  dynastic  changes  weakened  the  church,  and  it  finally  became 
extinct." 

7* 


158  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

mediation  of  saints,  the  adoration  of  images,  and  transubstan- 
tiation,  and  administer  tlie  ludy  communion  in  l)otli  l^inds  to 
laymen.  They  deny  ])urL''atorial  j)enance,  and  yet  think  the 
])iayei"s  of  the  pious  will  help  the  souls  of  the  dej)arted."  Their 
name  and  some  renniant  of  their  ancient  faith  survives,  )»ut  their 
ignorance  and  superstition  and  spiritual  darkness  are  almost  in- 
eredihle.  Kveu  the  priests  can  scarcely  nunnhle  through  the 
appointed  ])rayers  in  the  dead  language,  and  cannot  translate  a 
single  word.  They  are  very  much  in  the  state  of  the  Kestorians, 
when  fiivt  made  known  to  the  Christian  world,  a  generation  ago 
— socially  and  morally  corrujjt,  having  a  religion  of  mere  for- 
malism, a  system  of  fasts  and  ceremonies,  knowing  nothing  of  the 
Bible  itself,  practically  thinking  of  Christ  as  the  Jews  of  the 
East  do  of  Moses,  or  the  Moslems  do  of  Mohammed,  as  iheir 
])rophet.  Surrounded  by  Mohammedanism,  they  have  imbibed 
much  of  its  spirit  and  morals,  and  concubinage,  and  marriage  for 
a  limited  season,  are  not  unknown." 

5.  The  Jews. —  About  tifty  thousand  of  these  remnants  of  both 
the  Assyrian  and  Balnlonian  captivities,  are  found  in  more  than 
one  hundred  towns  and  villages  between  the  Tigris  and  the 
Caspian, 

IV. — What  Has  Been  Done. 

So  much  with  reference  to  the  people  seemed  necessary  in  order 
to  an  intelligent  view  of  the  missionary  work  which  h:us  been  ac- 
comjilished.  As  is  true  of  nearly  all  Eastern  lands,  the  Romish 
Church  was  firet  in  the  field,  their  efforts  dating  back  even  to  the 
fourteenth  century,  when  they  were  rivals  of  the  Ncstorians  in 
seeking  the  favor  of  the  Grand  Mogul.  Later  on,  they  ex])ended 
no  little  effort  to  proselyte  the  Armenians,  but  a  very  small 
church  in  Ispahan  is  the  only  existing  result  of  those  centuries  of 
labor. 

Modern  Protestant  missions  date  from  the  beginning  of  this 
century.  In  1811,  Henry  Martyn,  passing  from  India,  took 
up  his  abode  in  Persia,  and  spent  about  eleven  months  in  Shiraz. 
Here  he  gave  bold  and  frequent  testimony  to  Christ  before  the 
Mohammedans,  and  even  the  bigoted  Mullahs,  and  labored 
incessantly  upon  a  translation  of  the  New  Testament  and 
Psalms,  Avhich  he  completed  in  about  ten  months,  and  then 
dedicated  his  arduous  labors  to  the  Master  and  His  cause, 
in  the  following  prayer :  "  Now  may  the  Spirit  who  gave 
the  word,  and  called  me,  I  trust,  to  be  an  interpreter  of  it, 
graciously  and  powerfully  apply  it  to  tlie  hearts  of  sinners, 
even  to  the  gathering  an   elect   people  from   among  the  long- 


THE   MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  159 

estranged  Persians."  One  year  after  entering  Persia,  this  great 
and  good  man  left  Shiraz  and  proceeded  to  the  king's  camp  near 
Ispahan,  to  hiy  before  him  the  translation  he  had  made.  Most 
thrilling  is  the  story  of  that  interview,  when  he  was  called  to  a 
severer  trial  of  his  faith  than  at  any  previous  time.  Several  of 
the  most  intemperate  Mullahs  set  themselves  against  him,  and 
contended  with  him  in  the  presence  of  the  prime  minister  of 
the  kingdom.  Then  it  was  demanded  of  him  that  he  deny  the 
Saviour  who  had  bought  him  with  His  blood  ;  but  he  witnessed 
a  good  confession,  "  and  fearlessly  acknowledged  Jesus  as  his 
Lord."  .  Let  him  tell  us  the  story  in  his  own  words :  "  June 
12th,  I  attended  the  vizier's  levee,  Avhen  there  was  a  most  in- 
temperate and  clamorous  controversy  kept  up  for  an  hour  or 
two,  eight  or  ten  on  one  side  and  I  on  the  other.  The  vizier, 
who  set  us  going  at  first,  joined  in  it  latterly,  and  said,  '  You 
had  better  say  God  is  God,  and  Mohanuned  is  the  prophet  of 
God.'  I  said,  '  God  is  God,'  but  added,  instead  of  '  Mohammed 
is  the  prophet  of  God,'  '  and  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  '  They 
had  no  sooner  heard  this,  which  I  had  avoided  bringing  for- 
ward until  then,  than  they  all  exclaimed  in  contempt  and  anger, 
'  He  is  neither  born  nor  begets,'  and  rose  up  as  if  they  would 
have  torn  me  in  pieces.  One  of  them  said,  '  What  will  you 
say  when  your  tongue  is  burnt  out  for  this  blasphemy?'  One 
of  them  felt  for  me  a  little,  and  tried  to  soften  the  severity  of 
this  speech.  My  book,  which  I  had  brought,  expecting  to  present 
it  to  the  king,  lay  before  Mirza  Shufi.  As  they  all  arose  up, 
after  him,  to  go,  some  to  the  king  and  some  away,  I  was 
afraid  they  would  trample  upon  the  book,  so  I  Avent  in  among 
them  to  take  it  up,  and  wrapped  it  in  a  towel  before  them, 
while  they  looked  at  it  and  me  with  supreme  contempt.  Thus 
1  walked  away  alone,  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  in  heat  and 
dirt.  What  have  I  done,  thought  I,  to  merit  all  this  scorn? 
Nothing,  thought  I,  but  bearing  testimony  to  Jesus.  I  thought 
over  these  things  in  prayer,  and  found  that  peace  which  Christ 
hath  promised  to  His  disciples." 

The  next  European  laborer  in  this  field  was  the  Rev.  C.  G. 
Pfander,  a  German,  Avhose  brethren  had  a  flourishing  mission  in 
Shoosha,  Georgia.  He  visited  Persia  in  1829  and  sojourned  there 
at  intervals,  leaving,  as  his  most  important  work,  a  large  contro- 
versial book  called  the  "Balance  of  Truth,"  which  exhibited  the 
comparative  evidences  of  Mohammedanism  and  Christianity,  and 
showed  the  great  preponderance  of  the  latter.  This  book,  Avith 
several  other  treatises  on  the  Mohammedan  controversy,  is  still 
doing  a  good  work  among  the  skeptical  Moslems. 

Then  came,  in  1833,  Rev.  Frederick  Haas,  another  German  mis- 


IGO  IIISTOKICAL   SKKTCII    OF 

sionary,  who  located  at  Tabriz,  in  northwest  Persia.  He  was  soon 
followed  hy  other  brethren  from  the  (Jernian  missions  in  Cieorgia, 
Avhicli  hud  been  broken  up  by  the  intolerance  of  the  czar.  Could 
these  l)rethren  havi'  been  sustained,  they  would  have  done  a  blessed 
pioneer  work  for  Persia  ;  but  unscrupulous  bigotry  held  sway  and 
created  embarrassments  in  the  city,  so  that  they  were  recalled  by 
their  society  in  Basle,  after  f(»ur  years  of  labor. 

In  July,  l'S;5S,  Kev.  William  ( Jlen,  D.  I).,  a  Scottish  missionary, 
entered  the  field.  He  iiad  already  S])ent  many  yeai-s  in  Astrachan, 
Russia,  on  a  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  into  the  Persian 
language.  This  work  he  comj)leted  in  1847,  and,  coml)ining 
liis  translation  with  that  of  Henry  Martyn,  he  returned  to 
Scotland  to  superintend  the  printing  of  them,  and  at  the  age 
of  seventy  went  back  to  Persia  to  aid  in  circulating  the  Scrip- 
tures thus  prepared.  These  two  men  will  ever  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance  for  their  labors  in  giving  the  Bible  to  the 
millions  of  central  Asia. 

The  only  other  European  missionary  who  labored  in  Pei-sia  was 
the  Rev.  Robert  Bruce,  who  .in  l'S()9  sj)ent  several  months  in  Te- 
lieran,  where  he  found  a  field  of  great  promise.  Afterwards  Mr. 
Bruce  spent  some  years  at  Ispahan,  which  in  LS76  became  a 
station  of  the  English  Church  Missionary  Society.  This  excel- 
lent Society  continues  to  occupy  a  station  at  Julfa,  near  Isj)ahan, 
and  a  station  at  Bagdad.  The  number  of  evangelical  mission- 
aries in  Persia  is  still  very  inadequate  to  the  work  of  spreading 
a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  among  its  people. 

We  come  now  to  the  history  of  American  missions  in  Persia. 
[These  were  begun  by  the  American  Board  1829.  The  first  sta- 
tion, at  Oroomiah,  was  occupied  in  1835.  In  1871,  they  were 
transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board.  But  as  the  lines  of 
missionary  work  have  been  similar  under  both,  the  dates  given 
in  this  sketch  will  sufficiently  show  under  which  Board  particu- 
hir  events  occurred.] 

In  1829,  Rev.  INIessrs.  Smith  and  Dwight  were  sent  to  explore 
the  regions  of  northwest  Persia.  The  result  was  that  their  hearts 
were  especially  drawn  out  toward  the  oppressed  Nestorians  on  the 
j)lain  about  Lake  Oroomiah,  and  on  their  rej)resentations  the  Amer- 
ican Board  determined  to  estal)lish  a  mission  in  Persia  with  special 
reference  to  the  Nestorians ;  and  so  for  many  years  this  mission  was 
known,  not  as  the  "  Persian  Mission,"  but  as  "  The  Nestorian  Mis- 
sion." In  18.'>3,  Justin  Perkins,  a  tutor  in  Amherst  College,  was 
appointed  the  first  missionary,  and  sailed,  with  his  wife,  in  Sep- 
teml)er  of  that  year.  About  a  year  later  they  reached  Tabriz, 
and  in  1835  were  joined  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Grant. 


THE   MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  161 


OROOMIAH. 


This  little  company  formally  occupied Oroomiah  as  a  station  Nov. 
20, 1  <s;>5,  and  soon  proved  themselves  to  be  possessed  of  strong  faith 
and  unquencliable  zeal.  The  career  of  Dr.  Grant  was  cut  off  in  a 
few  years  by  dcatli ;  but  Dr.  Perkins  was  spared  to  labor  with  great 
vigor  and  usefulness  for  thirty-six  years.  The  instructions  given 
to  these  pioneer  workers  mentioned,  among  other  objects  to  be  kept 
in  view,  the  two  following  :  (1 )  "  To  convince  the  people  that  they 
came  among  them  with  no  design  to  take  away  their  religious 
privileges,  nor  to  subject  them  to  any  foreign  ecclesiastical  power ;" 
(2)  "  To  enable  the  Nestorian  Church  through  the  grace  of  God 
to  exert  a  commanding  influence  in  the  spiritual  regeneration  of 
Asia." 

Having  obtained  as  a  teacher  Mar  Yohanan,  one  of  the  most 
intelligent  of  the  Nestorian  bishops,  Mr.  Perkins  gave  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  common  language ;  and  when  this  had  been  mas- 
tered to  some  extent,  the  first  formal  work  was  undertaken — that 
of  reducing  this  language  to  writing  (which  had  never  yet  been 
done),  and  the  pre]iaration  of  a  series  of  cards. 

The  first  school  was  opened  in  January  1836,  in  a  cellar  with 
seven  small  boys  in  attendance.  On  the  next  day  there  were 
seventeen.  That  school  was  the  germ  of  the  Oroomiah  College, 
which  has  since  sent  forth  scores  of  devout  and  scholarly  preachers 
and  teachers  among  the  people.  The  annual  reports  show  that 
this  collegiate  and  theological  training-school  is  the  right  arm  of 
the  Persia  mission.  The  numbers  in  attendance  have  increased 
year  by  year  until  now  (1885)  the  college  accommodations  are 
taxed  to  the  utmost.  Sixty-five  students  were  connected  with  the 
college  during  the  year,  and  came  from  21  towns  and  villages  in 
Persia,  and  5  districts  in  Turkey.  42  are  church  members.  "Two 
of  the  students  were  mountain  priests  of  the  old  Nestorian  church." 
The  older  students  occupy  the  hours  of  the  Sabbath  in  various 
kinds  of  Christian  Avork  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  the  long 
winter  vacation  (17  weeks)  is  zealously  occupied  in  the  same 
manner.  "  Last  winter  (1884)  88  of  the  students  were  employed 
in  teaching  or  in  other  Christian  work,  some  of  them  in  the  darkest 
places  in  the  land." 

Not  only  has  the  college  attained  such  grand  success,  but  also  a 
school  for  girls,  founded  by  Mrs.  Grant  in  1838  as  the  beginning 
of  a  female  school,  has  increased  to  the  proportions  of  a  seminaiy, 
and  is  steadily  growing  in  numbers  and  efficiency.  "  A  large  pre- 
paratory department  has  also  been  added  to  the  Female  Seminary ; 
and  a  new  High  School  has  been  opened,  making  4  in  all  where 
the  boys  board  themselves.    The  interest  in  education  is  certainly 


162  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OP 

advanciiifr.  and  the  williiitriu'ss  on  the  part  of  parents  to  pay  for 
tlu'ir  cliildrenV  instruction  is  increasing." 

Thus  from  thi-  outset  eihication  was  wisely  employed  as  one  of 
the  chief  auxiliaries.  Tlie  i)reacliin<r  of  the  Word  was  also  re- 
•rank'd  as  of  prime  importance,  and  wa.s  immediately  instituted, 
the  nii.s<ionaries  preachinjr  at  Hrst  in  their  own  dwellin<rs,  or  in  the 
home.s  of  the  ])eople,  or  in  sehool-hou.ses,  until  after  a  while 
the  Ne^jitorian  ehurehes  were  oi)ened  to  them,  and  they  were  })er- 
mitted  to  declare  to  the*<e  ancient  but  degenerate  believers  the 
pure  trospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Village  work. — During  the  last  winter  a  large  amount  of  labor 
was  done  in  the  various  villages  of  the  Oroomiah  field.  "  Among 
these  villages  are  some  of  our  largest  congregations.  ]\Iuch  has 
been  done  in  them  for  the  increjv.se  and  j)eace  t)f  tlie  churche.'*. 
^lost  of  the  time,  however,  wa^i  spent  in  the  smaller  and  more 
neglected  villages  and  hamlets  where  utter  ignorance  and  degrada- 
tion still  aboiuid.  In  some  of  these  villages  wine-drinking  is 
fearfully  jjrevalent.  In  some,  nearly  every  man  was  found  dnnik, 
and  the  women,  of  course,  were  barefoot  and  ragged,  and  the 
children  entirely  neglected."  "  In  one  hamlet,"  says  Dr.  8hedd, 
"  all  the  women  and  children  came  to  tlie  meeting  I  held,  and 
seemed  intere.sted,  some  of  them  savingly  ])enitent,  while  the  men 
were  all  about  drinking  wine.  The  secret  is,  the  labor  of  a  pious 
woman  who  for  three  or  four  winters  past  has  taught  a  school 
for  the  children  and  gathered  the  women  into  her  j)rayer-meet- 
ings.  The  men  are  unable  to  answer  the  sini])lest  questions  as 
to  the  Christian  faith.  The  old  Nestorian  ])riest  comes  ])erhaps 
twice  a  year  to  administer  the  ordinances,  and  then  weeks  pass 
without  even  the  seml)lance  of  worship."  It  is  in  such  places  as 
these  that  the  college  students  from  Oroomiah  in  the  winter  season 
conduct  schools  and  pursue  their  evangelistic  labors. 

The  Press. — It  was  very  soon  found  necessary  to  suj)ply  a  re- 
ligious literature,  and  in  1837  a  jirinting  press  wiis  sent  to  the 
mission  l>y  the  Board  ;  but  it  proved  too  unwieldy  to  be  taken  over 
the  mountains,  and  was  sent  from  Trebizond  back  to  Constantino- 
ple. But  two  years  later,  the  invention  of  man  had  provided  a  press 
which  could  l)e  taken  to  pieces,  and  one  of  these,  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Edward  Breath,  a  printer,  was  at  once  sent  to  Oroomiah,  and  was 
regarded  with  great  interest  and  wonder  by  the  people.  The 
Scriptures  were  now  so  far  translated  into  the  Syriac  of  the  Nes- 
torians  that  jjortions  were  at  once  struck  off.  "  Some  of  the  ablest 
of  the  Nestorian  clergy  had  aided  in  the  translation,  and  the 
contents  of  their  rare  ancient  manuscripts  were  now  given  back 
to  them  in  a  language  whicli  all  could  understand  They  stood 
in  nmte  iistonishment  and  raj)ture  to  see  their  language  in  print ; 


THE   MISSION    IN    I'ERSIA.  163 

and  as  soon  as  they  could  speak,  the  exclamation  was,  *  It  is  time 
to  give  glory  to  God,  since  printing  is  begun  among  our  people." 
Besides  the  Bible,  which  has  been  issued  in  many  forms,  numer- 
ous works,  such  as  "  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  "  The  Saint's  Rest," 
"  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul,"  church  history, 
hymn-books,  geographies,  theological  lectures,  liave  been  given  to 
the  people.  For  many  years  a  monthly  periodical  called  the 
"  Rays  of  Light "  has  been  published,  containing  the  several 
departments  of  religion,  education,  science,  missionary  intelli- 
gence, &c. 

A  quarterly  Sabbath-school  lesson  paper  has  also  been  lately 
published  which  is  adding  greatly  to  the  interest  in  the  study  of 
the  International  Lessons.  Still  other  valuable  works  with  tracts 
and  leaflets  have  been  issued,  the  whole  number  of  pages  for  the 
year  1884  being  1,209,890.  The  advance  in  the  schools  and  the 
increase  in  the  church  membership  require  that  much  larger 
editions  than  formerly  be  printed. 

Medical  Work. — Dr.  J.  P.  Cochran  reports  that  during  the 
first  six  months  of  the  year  they  had  received  at  the  hospital  81 
patients,  and  that  he  had  prescribed  for  1,603  others.  In  addition 
to  his  practice  in  the  city,  he  had  visited  fifteen  different  villages. 
He  says  :  "  The  sick  come  in  large  numbers  to  the  office  every 
day.  They  flock  in  by  sunrise  ;  some  on  foot,  others  on  horses, 
donkeys,  oxen,  or  on  the  backs  of  their  friends,  or  borne  on  litters 
The  people  often  throw'  their  sick  at  our  feet,  saying,  '  We  shall 
not  take  them  away  until  you  cure  them,  or  let  them  die  here. 
Our  only  hope  is  in  God  above,  and  in  you  as  His  instruments 
below.'  My  two  assistants  also  see  many  sick,  so  that  over  3,000 
have  been  treated  at  our  doors  this  past  half  year." 

Mrs.  D.  P.  Cochran,  mother  of  Dr.  Cochran,  acts  as  matron  of 
the  hospital  at  Oroomiah.  Through  the  help  sent  to  them,  espe- 
cially by  the  ladies  of  the  Northwest,  they  have  been  able  during 
the  past  year  to  enlarge  somewhat  the  accommodation  of  the  hos- 
pital, and  to  make  its  grounds  and  rooms  still  more  bright  and 
attractive.  To  many  of  the  poor,  suffering  patients,  its  comfort- 
able and  pleasant  wards  seem  almost  like  Paradise.  "  Many  say, 
'  Only  let  us  stay  here,  and  we  will  recover.'  "  One  of  Dr.  Coch- 
ran's students  has  started  a  "  Branch  of  the  Westminster  Hospi- 
tal "  at  Salmas.  He  is  a  competent  man  in  some  departments  of 
practice,  and  an  active  Christian  as  well.  A  recent  letter  says, 
"  During  the  last  fourteen  days  he  has  treated  seventy-two  per- 
sons, mostly  Mohammedans." 


164  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OP 


SEMI-CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF  THE   OROOMIAH   MISSION. 

A  irreat  and  wide-spread  interest  was  sliown  in  tlie  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  Mission.  An  interesting  feature  in  eonnection 
with  its  ohservanee  wjis  the  presence  of  Dr.  II.  A.  Nelson,  of 
(Jeneva,  N.  Y.,  and  .special  delegate  from  the  Synod  of  New 
York.  His  visit  being  the  first  of  an  American  jKUstor  not  him- 
self a  missionary,  and  his  high  standing  in  the  church  at  home, 
and  his  earnest  and  encouraging  words,  and  the  variety  of  s})ecial 
meetings  held  at  the  time,  all  conspired  to  make  his  presence  a 
delight  to  the  mission  and  to  himself.  The  exercises  of  the 
anniversary  consisted  of  an  historical  address  by  Dr.  Shedd,  a 
p  iper  on  the  political  and  social  changes  in  Pereia  by  Mr.  Wil- 
son, of  Tabriz,  and  an  address  by  Dr.  Nelson,  with  extemjmrane- 
ous  remarks  by  others,  all  intei*spersed  with  proj)er  devotional 
exercises.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  these  paj)ers  and  addresses,  with 
other  memorials  of  the  past  fifty  years,  will  be  published  in  com- 
])lete  form.  A  few  paragraphs,  however,  from  Dr.  Shedd's  his- 
torical sketch  may  be  j)roperly  quoted  here.  After  a  rapid  review 
of  the  workers  who  have  been  connected  with  the  Mission  in 
Pei-sia,  Dr  Shedd  says  : 

"  These  facts  show  that  in  the  fifty  years  past  the  Church  of  the 
United  States  has  sent  to  Persia — a  far-off  and  inland  people, 
with  whom  our  country  has  few  commercial  and  no  political  rela- 
tions— nearly  one  hundred  of  her  chosen  sons  and  daughters,  at 
an  expense  of  about  $1,200,000.  Surely  here  is  a  memorable 
chapter  in  the  records  of  Missions  ;  an  enduring  glory,  that  such 
earnest  and  pei*severing  and  disinterested  effort  has  l)een  made  to 
benefit  the  minds  of  men  in  a  land  so  far  away.  But  with 
such  expenditure  of  wealth  and  talent  and  consecrated  labor 
and  life  we  are  now  to  ask  what  have  been  the  results.  What 
have  been  the  moral  and  spiritual  coiujuests  made  in  this 
crusade  by  the  missionaries  of  the  West  in  one  of  the  oldest 
nations  of  the  East,  and  especially  by  the  ]\Iission  of  the  young- 
est branch  of  the  Church  to  the  oldest  and  most  apostolic  ? 
In  re])ly  I  will  confine  myself  for  the  present  to  the  work  of 
Oroomiah  Station.  The  statistics  can  not  tell  us  all  that  God 
has  wrought.  Many  outside  of  our  organization,  we  believe, 
have  accepted  Christ  in  true  faith  and  been  saved.  Many  also 
who  have  been  enrolled  as  church  members  may  never  enter 
Heaven.  But  the  statistics  give  us  at  least  the  skeleton  of  the 
truth — tlu^  framework  of  the  redeemed  Church  of  God.  The 
number  admitted  to  our  comnuinion  from  the  fii-st  till  Novem- 
ber, 18<S:i,  forms  a  total  of  2,r).32  souls.  Of  these  1J31  have  fallen 
asleej),  and  1,001  are  on  the  roll.      The  records  of  comnuinicants 


THE   MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  165 

began  about  twenty  years  after  the  missionary  work.  The  report 
for  1856  gives  158  members.  The  number  ten  years  later,  for 
1886,  was  612;  ten  years  later,  in  1876,  it  was  804;  and  seven 
years  afterwards,  for  1883,  1601. 

"  In  the  line  of  education  tlie  schedule  of  reports  began  in 
1837.     They  show  as  follows : 

Average  Schools  Average 

Per  Year.  No.  Pupils. 

For  the  first  decade,  1837-46 24  530 

second    "        1847-56 50  948 

"         third       "        1857-66 51  1,096 

"         fourth     "        1867-76 68  1,024 

Last  seven  years,          1877-84 81  1,833 

Few  mission  fields  have  been  more  successful  than  that  of 
which  Oroomiah  is  the  centre.  And  as  for  the  lives  of  the 
servants  of  God  who  have  labored  there  Oroomiah  may  challenge 
the  world  to  produce  men  and  women  of  more  exalted  piety  or 
more  fervent  consecration.  The  names  of  Perkins,  Grant,  Rhea, 
Coan  and  Fiske,  will  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance. 

In  1883  it  was  found  convenient,  owing  to  the  great  distance 
between  some  of  the  stations,  the  lack  of  railroads  and  even  of 
common  roads,  the  diversity  of  language,  and  other  causes,  to 
divide  the  Persia  mission  into  Eastern  and  Western  Missions. 
Along  with  Oroomiah  in  the  Western  Mission  is  classed  Tabriz, 
and  a  new  station  Salmas. 


TABRIZ. 

This  was  the  third  station  permanently  occupied  in  the  country, 
and  soon  became  a  centre  of  missionary  work  in  its  locality. 
Rev.  P.  Z.  Easton  and  wife  and  Miss  Jewett  were  the  first  to  take 
possession  of  the  field,  in  the  year  1873.  This  city  lies  east  of  the 
lake  Oroomiah,  and  about  140  miles  by  the  road  from  the  city  of 
that  name.  It  is  the  great  centre  of  European  merchandise ;  and 
as  to  trade  generally,  it  is  the  emporium  of  Persia,  having  bazars 
and  caravansaries  in  great  numbers,  and  in  many  cases  extensive 
and  of  superior  construction. 

It  has  a  population  of  about  two  hundred  thousand,  made  up 
principally  of  Armenians  and  Moslems.  The  missionaries  have 
encountered  more  opposition  here  than  at  any  other  point.  At 
first,  large  numbers  of  both  the  classes  named  attended  the  ser- 
vices, and  a  few  seemed  to  be  especially  interested.  Their  steady 
attendance  upon  the  means  of  grace  aroused  the  suspicion  and 
hostility  of  certain  ecclesiastics,  which  resulted  in  their  being 
watched  by  some  of  the  police.  Soon  some  of  them  were  appre- 
hended, thrown  into  prison,  and  severely  beaten.     They  were. 


1(>6  IIISTORICA-L   SKETCH    OF 

however,  released  throui^li  tlie  active  interference  of  the  Enijlish 
consul  and  Mr.  Kaston.  One  of  those  who  were  thus  punishetl  was 
an  old  man.  He  had  reason  to  helieve  that  if  he  did  not  acknowl- 
edire  Mohammed,  death  miirht  await  him;  hut  he  remained  stead- 
fast, an<l  if  he  did  not  venture  to  call  upon  (yjirist,  neither  did  he 
inv<»ke  Mohammed  or  Ali,  hut  cried.  "()  Lord  of  heaven,  in  Thee 
is  our  hope."  Tliis  opposition  to  evanifelical  eH'ort  was  instii^ated 
hv  the  Armenian  priests,  who  were  afraid  of  losing  their  followers, 
jis  there  is  no  law  against  an  Armenian  becoming  a  Protestant, 
though  the  death  penalty  exists  against  any  follower  of  Mohammed 
embracing  Christianity.  Time,  however,  luis  wrought  sure  and 
notable  progress.  Evangelistic  work  hiis  been  pro.secuted  with 
vigor.  A  School  for  boys  and  another  for  girls  were  oj)ened  fn)ni 
the  first.  Woman's  work,  a  medical  department,  and  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  have  been  carried  forward  with  encouraging 
success.  A  Book  Department  has  been  opened  at  this  station  in 
which  has  been  sold  I'i.'W  copies  of  the  word  of  God,  besides  many 
other  religious  and  textbooks.  "The  year  1884  opened  with 
manifest  tokens  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  during  the  week  of 
jjrayer  especially  in  the  boys'  school  and  in  the  women's  meetings. 
During  the  following  months  there  were  large  congregations,  with 
manv  Mu.ssulraans  in  attendance.  A  severe  persecution,  however, 
arose  in  the  spring  which  interrupted  direct  work  among  the 
ISIussulmans  and  o(;casioned  the  backsliding  of  some  of  their 
number  wlio  had  been  baptized. 

It  was  made  evident  that  a  longer  probation  and  more  than 
usually  thorough  instruction  must  precede  baptism  in  the  case  of 
Moslem  converts.  It  seems  to  be  indicated  also  by  these  new  ob- 
structions thrown  in  the  way  of  work  among  the  Moslems,  that  a 
larger  share  of  the  attention  of  the  mission  should  be  given  to 
the  Armenians.  Hitherto  the  preaching  has  been  in  Turkish,  but 
after  this  all  missionaries  in  Tabriz  are  to  learn  Armenian  also, 
that  j)reaching  and  teaching  may  be  (tarried  on  in  that  language 
as  well  as  in  Turkish.  There  has  been  but  one  addition  to  the 
cliurch  in  Tabriz,  but  there  are  ten  candidates  now  on  probation. 
It  has  been  necessary  during  the  year  to  excommunicate  four 
mend)ers  of  the  church  and  to  enforce  discipline  in  other  ctuses, 
l)ut  good  results  are  already  manifest  from  this  purification  of 
the  church.  The  year  has  w^itnessed  an  increiusing  brotherly  love, 
with  more  prayer  and  earnest  labor  for  souls,  and  a  decided  ad- 
vance tow'ard  self-support,  tis  well  as  in  benevolent  contributions. 
Mr.  Wilson  during  the  year  made  two  tours,  in  which,  in  the 
course  of  15  weeks,  he  visited  3")  Armenian  comnmnities.  The 
first  tour  wa-;  in  company  with  Ilaritune,  the  teacher  of  the  girls' 
school,  U)  Karadagh,  north  of  Tabriz.     In  the  second  tour  Miss 


THE   MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  167 

Jewett  and  he,  returning  from  the  annual  meeting  at  Oroomiah, 
made  the  circuit  of  the  lalce,  visiting  Suldooz,  Soujbulak,  Mian- 
duab,  and  Maragha.  Both  these  tours  were  full  of  precious  op- 
portunities for  seed-sowing  and  of  evidence  of  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  to  attract  the  hearts  of  men." 

The  Mission  in  tlie  minutes  of  the  Annual  Meeting  refer  with 
expressions  of  much  thankfulness  to  the  work  of  the  Bible  Society 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wliipple,  as  affording  them  great 
assistance,  and  make  mention  as  well  of  the  timely  help  extended 
to  them  by  the  Turkish  Mission  Aid  Society.  In  many  commu- 
nications our  missionaries  in  Western  Persia  write  in  the  strongest 
terms  of  their  indebtedness  to  Hon.  S.  G.  W.  Benjamin,  U.  S. 
Minister  to  Persia,  for  the  sympathy  which  he  has  continually 
manifested  with  their  work,  and  for  the  energy  and  success  with 
which  he  has  guarded  their  rights  as  American  citizens. 

SALMAS. 

During  the  past  year,  1884,  a  new  station  has  been  occupied  by 
the  jNIission,  in  the  town  of  Salmas,  nearly  fifty  miles  west  of  Oroo- 
miah. This  town  is  the  centre  of  the  largest  Armenian  and  Papal 
Nestorian  population  of  Persia.  The  next  largest  is  found  in  Kara- 
dagh,  explored  by  Mr.  Wilson  last  summer,  and  in  Tabriz.  Salmas  is 
situated  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  plain,  twenty-five  miles  from  east 
to  west,  and  twelve  from  north  to  south.  Within  this  plain  and 
on  the  mountain  slopes  in  sight  are  40,000  or  50,000  souls.  Here 
are  over  twenty  Armenian  villages,  all  within  a  ride  of  two  hours 
from  Salmas.  The  station  was  opened  last  May  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Shedd,  aided  by  two  young  men  from  the  college  at  Oroomiah 
able  to  give  very  efficient  help.  In  December  Miss  C.  O.  Van 
Duzee,  formerly  of  Erzroum,  who  has  recently  joined  the  Persia 
Mission,  was  added  to  the  force  at  Salmas.  On  Christmas  day 
she  opened  the  first  girls'  school,  which  was  begun  with  two  little 
girls,  and  in  a  few  weeks  had  groAvn  to  fourteen  pupils.  Being 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Armenian  language.  Miss  Van  Duzee 
is  able  to  enter  immediately  upon  work  among  the  women  in  the 
many  villages  around  her.  The  church  in  Salmas  has  at  once 
started  into  new  life  and  growth,  and  in  addition  to  the  girls' 
school  which  has  been  opened,  a  new  impulse  has  been  given  to 
the  schools  before  established,  and  from  their  pupils  a  number  of 
sincere  inquiries  have  already  appeared. 

TEHERAN, 

The  misssion  to  Persia,  as  already  stated,  was  transferred 
to  the  Board  by  the  American  Board   in  1871,  and  with  the 


108  HISTORICAL   SKETCn    OF 

transfer  there  came  an  urgent  plea  from  the  missionaries 
for  an  enhirgement.  It  was  felt  to  lie  a  duty  to  embrace 
within  their  work  the  Armenians  and  Mosk'ms  of  central 
Persia.  Accordingly  Kev.  James  Bassett,  who  had  reached 
Oroomiah  in  IMl,  made  an  extended  tour  the  following  year, 
visiting  Tabriz,  Hamadan  and  Teheran,  the  result  of  which  was 
that  he  was  sent  to  occupy  the  capital  city  of  Teheran  in  Novem- 
ber, 1^<72,  where  he  was  warmly  welcomed  by  both  Mussulmans  and 
Armenians.  Here  is  a  j)oi)ulation  of  2()(),()00,  most  of  whom  are 
Moslems  ;  but  there  are  one  thousand  Armenians,  two  thousand 
Jews  and  one  hundred  Eurojieans.  The  two  languages  chiefly  spok- 
en are  the  Turkish  and  the  Persian,  the  latter  only  being  heard  on 
the  streets.  Of  this  field  Mr.  Passett  says,  "  We  occupy  the  only 
tenable  ground  for  labor  designed  to  reach  either  eastern  Persia 
or  the  Tartar  tribes  of  Turkistan.  The  Turkish  language  spoken 
here  enables  a  person  to  j)ass  quite  through  Turkistan  to  the 
birth-place  of  Tamerlane  and  (Jenghis  Khan,  into  Chinese  Tar- 
tary  and  far  to  the  northward,  while  the  Pei*sian  makes  accessible 
all  central  and  southern  Peii?ia,  through  Khorassan  to  Afghanis- 
tan, and  even  large  jiopulations  of  India.  In  this  city  there  is 
no  evangelical  preacher  or  church.  There  are  two  French 
Lazarists,  and  one  Armenian  priest  who  reads  to  a  few  Arme- 
nians a  ritual  in  an  ancient  and  unknown  tongue  ;  and  this  is  all 
that  is  done  in  the  way  of  giving  the  gospel  to  this  city,  the 
capital  of  a  kingdom,  and  the  most  important,  both  in  its  politi- 
cal and  commercial  relations,  of  any  city  between  Constantinople 
and  Bombay.  Central  Asia  has  in  nearly  all  the  i)ast  been 
neglected  by  the  Church  of  Christ ;  the  result  has  been  that  it  is 
the  great  source  whence  have  proceeded  the  scourges  of  nuin- 
kind  ;  and  the  Tartar  and  Iranian  hordes  have  age  after  age,  as 
in  great  tidal  waves,  quite  overflowed  Christendom,  overthrowing 
its  civilization  and  nearly  extinguishing  its  light.  It  is  vain  for 
us  to  ex])ect  })eace  on  earth  or  the  sway  of  a  Christian  civiliza- 
tion, until  the  millions  of  those  vast  regions  shall  have  been 
brought  under  the  sceptre  of  the  King  of  ])eace." 

Teheran  is  not  only  the  central  point  from  which  to  reach  a 
vast  outlying  jwimlation,  it  is  also  a  rapidly  growing  city. 

At  the  rate  of  progress  made  in  the  last  Ave  years,  the  vacant 
land  within  the  twelve  gates  will  soon  be  occupied.  The  impor- 
tation of  European  ways  and  inventions  has  been  considerable. 
The  imitation  apjiears  in  the  buildings,  in  width  of  streets,  police- 
men, uniforms,  carriages,  and  gas-light  and  ])ost-oftices.  The 
country  at  large  remains  in  the  former  condition  of  poverty 
and  wretchedness.  There  is  no  attemjit  at  imjirovement  in 
agriculture  nor   in  the  arts.      The  resources  of  the  country  re- 


THE   MISSION    IN    PERSIA.  169 

main  undeveloped.  Somethinj^  is  attempted  in  the  way  of  min- 
ing, but,  as  yet,  it  has  been  productive  of  no  great  results.  The 
taste,  so  far  as  developed,  appears  to  be  chiefly  for  what  is  orna- 
mental; and  for  the  luxuries  of  Europeans.  Intellectual  and 
moral  reformations  have  not  to  human  judgment  begun.  Tele- 
graphs and  western  ornaments  and  trinkets  let  in  a  little  light, 
but  nothing  has  come  or  been  accepted  which  might  not  easily 
be  lost  without  leaving  a  trace  of  good." 

The  missionaries  are  bravely  laboring  to  secure  this  mental 
and  moral  reformation.  In  1888  a  neat  chapel  was  built  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  300,  in  which  preaching  services  in  Persian 
and  English  are  regularly  held.  The  same  agencies  are  em- 
ployed in  the  work  as  at  Oroomiah,  but  not  on  so  extended  a 
scale.  The  work  for  women,  the  school  for  girls  and  also  one 
for  boys — which  is  much  crippled  for  want  of  a  suitable  building 
— the  medical  and  publication  departments  are  all  as  vigorously 
pressed  as  the  means  will  permit.  The  church  reports  this  year 
(1885)  an  active  membership  of  35.  Total  number  of  pupils  in 
the  mission  schools  146.  In  the  medical  department  2,500 
patients  were  treated.  700  copies  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  450 
copies  of  a  Persian  Hymn  Book,  1000  copies  of  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress, total  number  of  pages  471,000  were  printed  during  the 
year.  Also  1214  volumes  of  Scriptures  were  sold  and  418  vol- 
umes of  other  publications. 

HAMADAN. 

This  ancient  city  is  supposed  to  occupy  the  site  of  Ecbatana 
(Ezra,  vi :  2),  the  place  where  Darius  found  the  roll  with  the 
decree  of  Cyrus  for  rebuilding  the  house  of  God  at  Jerusalem. 
Work  is  carried  on  here  along  the  same  lines  followed  at  the 
other  stations,  and  encouraging  progress  has  been  made  ;  but  all 
the  annual  reports  emphasize  the  fact  that  much  opposition  is 
excited  against  the  work  by  all  classes,  Moslems,  Armenians  and 
Jews.  The  character  of  the  work  at  Hamadan  and  the  opposi- 
tion that  it  encounters  are  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  last 
annual  report  from  the  field. 

"As  heretofore  two  services  have  been  held  each  Sabbath  in  the 
Armenian  quarter  of  the  city  without  interruption,  the  aged  Nes- 
torian  pastor  and  Mr.  Hawkes  conducting  the  services.  The  church 
building  hitherto  occupied  for  these  services,  which,  by  the  way, 
is  dark,  dilapidated,  and  uncomfortable,  was  claimed  by  the  old 
Armenians,  and,  through  the  enmity  of  certain  influential  men 
at  the  capital,  was  given  over  by  the  authorities  to  them.  The 
Protestants  have  since  worshipped  in  private  houses.     '  We  have 


170  IIISTOIilCAL   SKETCH    OF 

made  this,'  writ<^s  Mr.  Hawkos,  '  the  occasion  of  a  petition  to  the 
Shah  for  permission  to  build  a  new  chapel,  and  the  last  mail 
brin;,rs  word  that  he  has  trranted  the  petition  and  made  a  contribu- 
tion of  400  tomans  toward  the  erection  of  the  building.  The 
Prince  Governor  came  to  see  the  chosen  location,  ap[)roved  of  it, 
and  ordered  that  work  should  commence  about  the  first  of  April. 
We  hope  it  will  be  completed  before  next  winter.'  The  Sunday- 
school  has  been  ke])t  up,  with  110  names  on  the  roll,  and  an 
average  atti-ndance  of  60.  Services  among  the  Jews  have  been 
attended  by  only  a  small  number,  as  the  people  have  been  in 
constant  fear  of  persecution.  To  lessen  their  fears  Pastor  Shimon 
has  taken  a  house  in  the  midst  of  their  homes,  and,  having 
accommodations  in  his  dwelling  both  for  ])reaching  services 
and  a  girls'  school,  it  is  hoped  that  they  both  may  be  carried  on 
without  interruption.  Efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Jews  had  been 
undertaken  some  time  since  by  the  London  missionaries,  but 
having  become  satisfied  that  the  field  was  properly  ours,  and 
that  two  societies  could  not  work  here  to  an  advantage,  they 
have  withdrawn. 

Schooh. — The  girls'  school  in  the  Armenian  quarter  is  the  only 
one  that  has  been  allowed  to  continue  its  cour.-e  undisturbed 
through  the  various  persecutions  of  the  year.  Fifty-six  have  been 
in  attendance.  Since  the  marriage  of  JNIiss  Sherwood  to  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hawkes,  Miss  Montgomery,  her  associate  in  the  school,  has 
received  into  the  building  10  boarders.  Her  labors  in  the  super- 
vision of  such  a  school,  recjuiring  unremitting  attention  upon  her 
])art,  while,  at  the  same  time,  she  is  prosecuting  the  study  of  both 
Persian  and  Armenian,  it  will  be  readily  seen,  must  be  very  ard- 
uous. She,  however,  bravely  writes:  'I  do  not  mind  being  alone, 
and  do  not  ask  for  help,  for  while  I  see  the  great  need  around  me, 
I  know  the  need  in  other  fields  is  greater  still ;  but  when  our  new 
school  building  is  ready  and  our  work  increases,  then  I  shall  cry 
out  for  aid.' 

The  boys'  high-school  has  been  sadly  interrupted,  being  several 
times  closed  by  Government  order.  The  Jewish  boys  have  thus 
lo.st  much  time,  and  the  Armenians,  although  generally  keeping 
up  their  studies,  have  not  made  the  progress  they  should.  Dr.  and 
JStrs.  Alexander  have  kindly  opened  a  boarding  department  for 
the  boys  in  an  unoccupied  room  in  their  house.  They  have  had 
six  under  their  care.  Another  school,  for  Jewish  boys  only,  has 
been  opened  during  the  past  year.  There  are  in  it  some  50  boys, 
but  the  disturbances  prevailing  have  had  their  influence  upon  this 
also.  A  school  started  by  Mrs.  Alexander  for  girls  in  the  Jewish 
fjuarter  was  soon  stopped  by  the  Government.  The  number  en- 
rolled reached  25.     The  immediate  cause  of  the  closing  was  a 


THE   MISSION    IN   PERSIA.  171 

prayer-niceting  started  in  the  same  room,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
the  neighbors.  It  immediately  stirred  up  the  prejudices  of  the 
leading  Jews." 

The  great  need  in  this  and  in  all  the  Persian  fields  is  for  more 
men  and  Avomen  with  consecrated  hearts  to  strongly  occupy  and 
extend  all  the  branches  of  the  work.  But  "  how  shall  they  preach 
except  they  be  sent?"  When  will  the  church  at  home  put  forth 
her  strength ! 

V.    The  Outlook. 

The  most  important  consideration,  as  suggesting  hope  in  our 
■work,  is  the  simple  fact  that  so  many  years  of  faithful  seed-sowing 
have  passed.  He  is  faithful  who  hath  said, "  So  shall  my  word  be 
that  goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth ;  it  shall  not  return  unto  me 
void."  The  work  thus  far  has,  of  necessity,  been  largely  prepar- 
atory. To  create  a  literature,  to  establish  schools,  and  to  win  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  called  for  time  and  no  little  patience.  A 
strong  foothold  has  now  been  gained.  The  scores  and  hundreds, 
and  even  thousands  of  youth  who  have  been  educated  in  our 
schools,  go  out  in  every  case  as  friends  of  the  mission.  In  what 
they  are,  and  in  the  words  they  speak,  they  spread  far  and  near 
the  sweet  savor  of  a  gospel  education,  and  reveal  the  refining  and 
elevating  influence  of  the  work  we  seek  to  accomplish.  These 
educated  youths  will  in  the  years  to  come,  as  they  grow  in  age  and 
influence,  help  to  mould  a  public  sentiment  favorable  to  pure 
Christianity  ;  and  so  the  way  shall  be  made  plain  for  an  unfettered 
and  effectual  preaching  of  Christ,  as  the  only  hope  of  Persia. 
No  better  point  of  outlook  from  which  to  forecast  the  future  can 
be  found  than  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Shedd,  a  veteran  on  that  field, 
taken  from  his  "  Review  of  Six  Years  "  when  he  was  setting  out 
for  the  new  station  at  Salmas :  "  In  these  six  years,"  he  says, 
"nearly  1000  have  been  added  to  our  communion  on  confession. 
There  has  been  substantial  progress  in  self-support.  The  native 
Church  has  taken  a  more  complete  organization  and  has  groAvn 
in  aggressive  poAver.  The  truth  has  been  published  and  taught 
in  more  of  the  smaller  villages  and  over  a  wider  area  than  ever 
before.  Many  buildings  for  meetings  and  schools  have  been 
erected,  and  several  churches  have  been  dedicated. 

The  college  and  hospital  buildings  have  been  erected.  The 
system  of  education,  Avith  the  college  at  the  head,  has  been  more 
fully  developed.  In  glancing  backward  my  faith  is  quickened. 
The  cause  of  Christ  is  not  merely  holding  its  OAvn,  but  is  ad- 
vancing, and  I  thank  God  for  the  privilege  of  helping  in  ever 
so  small  a  degree  this  ad\'ance.     But  the  exhortation  is  ne\'erthe- 


172  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

less  ai)i)lit'al)le  to  Persia,  '  Brethren,  ye  have  need  of  patience.' 
There  are  many  ohsUicles. 

"The  six  yeai-s  ptujt  have  seen  no  little  agitation  and  violence. 
In  the  wake  of  tlie  Kusso-Turkish  war,  turmoil  has  filled  Kur- 
distan, and  it  has  heen  a  constant  sorrow  that  we  could  do  wo  little 
for  the  large  population  in  the  mountains.  Of  late  the  Turks 
forl)id  our  travels.  Unless  the  (fovernment  of  the  United  States 
can  protect  her  citizens  with  a  stronger  hand,  the  pros])ect  is 
gloomy  in  Turkey.  In  these  years  a  famine,  the  most  severe 
known  for  three  centuries,  has  swept  over  this  region  and  carried 
ott"  its  victims  hy  tens  of  thousands.  Our  people  passed  through 
it  by  the  united  cHbrt  of  the  missionaries  and  native  preachers 
in  using  the  alms  sent  from  America  and  Europe.  The  Gospel 
saved  them  in  the  time  of  ftimine.  Following  this  was  the  rebel- 
lion and  invasion  of  the  Kurds,  that  for  a  time  threatened  to  in- 
volve the  whole  Christian  population  in  destruction  ;  but  again 
God's  arm  was  made  bare  to  save,  and  again  the  Gospel  was  the 
agency  used  for  salvation. 

"  To  the  careful  observer  the  signs  of  unrest  and  decay  in  the 
mass  of  Islam  are  increasing.  Brought  to  the  actual  test  of  ex- 
j)erience,  the  system  in  many  thoughtful  minds  is  weighed  and 
found  wanting.  The  merciless  cruelty  and  apathy  in  the  famine, 
the  fierce  and  revengeful  passions  of  the  war,  and  the  venality 
and  hy|>ocrisy  of  the  teachers,  make  it  clear  to  some  among  them 
that  Islam  can  do  nothing  for  lost  and  dying  men.  The  reading 
of  the  Bible  increases  this  doubt,  and  still  more  the  reading  of 
pure  and  exemplary  Christian  lives.  This  process  of  doubt  must 
go  on  till  it  reaches  the  point  of  despair.  The  cycle  of  the  Islam 
faith  must  run  its  course  as  truly  as  that  of  the  pagan  faith 
before  Christ  and  other  pagan  faiths  of  to-day." 

In  the  increasing  organizations  and  growing  power  of  the 
native  churches,  in  the  wider  proclamation  of  the  truth,  in  the 
founding  of  colleges  and  schools  for  botli  sexes,  in  the  erection  of 
hospitals,  in  the  manifestation  of  the  true  philanthropic  spirit  of 
Christianity  in  feeding  the  famine-stricken,  in  the  waning  power 
of  Islam,  in  the  self-denying  lives  of  these  devoted  missionaries 
the  future  is  big  witli  the  promise  of  a  new  and  better  order  of 
things  for  Pei-sia.  All  the  leadings  of  God's  providence  beckon 
forward  our  Presbyterian  Church  as  the  only  Protestant  Church 
that  sends  missionaries  into  this  land,  and  hold  out  to  us  the 
bright  hope  that,  at  no  distant  day,  the  Paradise  that  was  lost  in 
this  land  through  man's  first  disobedience  shall  be  replaced,  for 
tho  millions  of  Persia,  with  that  Paradise  of  God  where  grows 
the  Tree  of  Life,  on  the  banks  of  the  River  of  Life,  whose  source 
is  the  throne  of  God. 


the  mission  in  persia.  173 

Statistics  of  Persia  Missions,  1885. 

American  ordained  missionaries, 10 

"lay                     "               5 

women              "              23 

Native,  ordained, •     .    .    .    .  33 

"        licentiates, 39 

"       total, 230 

Churches, 25 

Communicants, 1,796 

Added  during  the  year, 147 

Boarding-school  pupils, 208 

Day             "            "        2,452 

Total           "            "        2,660 

Students  for  the  ministry, 8 

Contributions, $1,910 

Congregations, 4,578 

Pages  prmted, 1,680,890 

Mlssionaries  in  1885. 
western  mission. 

Oroomiah  (near  Lake  Oroomiah)  :  occupied  as  a  mission  sta- 
tion of  the  American  Board,  1834;  transferred  to  Presbyterian 
Board,  1871 ;  missionary  laborer — Rev.  Messrs.  B.  Labaree,  Jr., 
John  H.  Shedd,  D.D  ,  Rev.  J.  M.  Oldfather,  James  E.  Rogers 
and  their  wives  ;  Joseph  P.  Cochran,  M.D.,  and  his  wife ;  Mre. 
D.  P.  Cochran,  Miss  N.  Jennie  Dean,  Miss  Mary  K.  Van  Duzee, 
Mr.  Arthur  A.  Hargrave  and  his  wife. 

Tabriz  :  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Wilson,  George  W.  Holmes,  M.D., 
and  his  wife ;  Mrs.  L.  C.  Van  Hook,  Miss  Mary  Jewett,  Miss 
Grettie  Y.  Holliday. 

Salmas  :  Rev.  John  H.  Shedd,  D.D.,  and  his  wife  (a  part  of 
the  year)  ;  Rev.  John  N.  Wright,  Miss  C.  O.  Van  Duzee. 

EASTERN   mission. 

Teheran  :  Rev.  Messrs.  Joseph  L.  Potter,  T.  J.  Potter  and 
W.  W.  Torrence,  M.D.,  and  their  wives  ;  Miss  Sarah  J.  Bassett, 
Miss  Anna  Schenck,  Miss  Cora  A.  Bartlett,  Miss  Annie  G.  Dale. 

Hamadan  :  Rev.  James  Hawkes,  Edgar  W.  Alexander,  M.D., 
and  their  wives  ;  Miss  Annie  Montgomery. 

In  this  country :  Rev.  S.  L.  Ward  and  his  wife ;  Miss  N. 
Jennie  Dean. 

8 


174 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF   THE   MISSION    IN    PERSIA. 


Missionaries  in  Persia,  J  871-1885. 

♦Died,    t  Transferred  from  the  American  liminl.    Fieuros,  Term  of  Service  in  the 
Field. 

Alexander,  Ttev.  E.  W., 
Alexaiuler,  Mrs., 
Hartlett,  Miss  C.  A., 
Ba.<!.sett,  Jtev.  J., 
Hassett,  Mrs., 
l?a.'<sett,  Miss  S.  J., 
Carev,  Miss  A., 
Clark,  Miss  M.  A., 
»Coan,  Rev.  G.  W.,t 
Coan,  Mrs., 
Coan,  Rev.  F.  G., 
Coan,  Mrs., 

♦Coehran,  Rev.  J.  G.,t 
Cochran,  Mrs., 
Cochran,  J.  P.,  (M.D.), 
Cochran,  Miss  K., 
Dale,  Miss  A.  G., 
Dean,  Miss  N.  J., 
P^aston,  Rev.  P.  Z.,t 
Easton,  ilrs., 
Ilargrave,  Mr.  A.  A., 
Ilargrave,  Mrs.  (Miss  M. 

J.  Moore,  1884), 
Ilawkes,  Rev.  J.  W., 
Hawkes,    Mrs.    (Miss    B. 

Sherwoof],  1883), 
Holliday,  Miss  G.  T., 
Holmes,  G.  W.,  (M.D.), 

1874-77 
Holmes,  Mrs.,  1874-77 

Jewett,  Miss  M., 
Labaree,  Rev.  B.,f 
Labaree,  Mrs., 


18S2- 

Montgomery,  Miss  A., 

1882- 

1882- 

Oldfather,  Rev.  .1.  M., 

1872- 

1882- 

Oldfuther,  Mrs., 

1872- 

1871-1884 

Poage,  Miss  A.  E., 

1875-1880 

1871-1884 

Porter,  Rev.  T.  J., 

1884-1885 

1875- 

Porter,  Mrs., 

1884-1885 

1880-1883 

Potter,  Rev.  J.  L., 

1874- 

1880-1884 

Potter,  Mrs., 

1874- 

1849-1879 

Rogers,  Rev.  J.  E., 

1882- 

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1885- 

Schenck,  Miss  Anna, 

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*Scott,  Rev.  D., 

1877-1879 

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Scott,  Mrs., 

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1847- 

Shedd,  Rev.  J.  n.,t 

1859- 

1878- 

Shedd,  Mrs., 

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1871-1875 

Sherwood,  iliss  15., 

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1885- 

Stocking,  Rev.  W.  R., 

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•Stocking,  Mrs., 

1871-1872 

1873-1879 

Stocking,  Mrs., 

-1872 

1873-1879 

Torrence,  VV.  W.,  (M.D.), 

1881- 

1883- 

Torrence,  Mrs., 

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Van  Duzee,  Miss  M.  K., 

1875- 

1885- 

Van  Hook,  Mrs.  L.  C., 

1876- 

1880- 

Van  Norden,  Rev.  T.  L.,t 

1860-1873 

Van  Norden,  Mrs., 

1806-1873 

1884 

Ward,  Rev.  S.  L., 

1876- 

1883- 

Ward,  Mrs., 

1876- 

Whipple,  Rev.  W.  L., 

1872-1879 

;  si- 

Whij)ple,  Mrs., 

1872-1879 

;  81- 

Wilson,  Rev.  S.  G., 

1880- 

1871- 

Wright,  Rev.  J.  N., 

1878- 

1860- 
1860- 

*Wright,  Mrs., 

1878. 

Books  of  Reference. 

The  Land  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun.  By  C.  J.  Wills. 
Woman  and  her  Saviour  in  Persia.  By  Dr.  Laurie. 
Central  Asia.     By  A.  Vambery. 

Dr.  Grant  and  the  Mountain  Nestorians.     By  Dr.  Laurie. 
Memoir  of  Miss  Fiske. 


ndia. 


^ 


BY 


Rev.  a.  BRODHEAD,  D.  D. 


70     iDitciruDt  75    c^sT  rnoNi       flO    enccNWiCH.       OS 


95 


^'^>''V   K-i^ 


MISSIONS  IN  INDIA. 


The  writer  of  this  sketch  cannot  do  his  readers  a  better  service 
than,  as  a  preface  to  anything  he  may  present,  to  transfer  to  these 
pages  from  the  "  Church  Missionary  Atlas,"  a  recent  English  work 
of  great  value,  the  following  compendious  view  of  India: 

"  The  classical  name  of  India  seems  to  have  been  anciently 
given  to  the  whole  of  that  part  of  Asia  lying  east  of  the  river 
Hind,  or  Sindhu,  or  Indus,  as  far  as  the  confines  of  China,  and 
extending  north  as  far  as  the  Mongolian  steppes.  The  modern 
name  Hindustan,  is  of  Persian  origin,  and  means  the  place  or 
country  of  the  Hindus.  Sindhu  means  '  black,'  and  was  the  name 
given  to  the  river  Indus ;  but  it  is  not  clear  whether  the  (black) 
people  first  gave  the  name  to  the  river,  or  the  river  to  the  people. 

"  To  the  dwellers  in  the  elevated  and  dry  steppes  and  uplands 
of  Arabia,  Persia,  and  Asia  Minor,  such  a  land  of  magnificent 
rivers,  impenetrable  forests,  and  rich  alluvial  plains,  abounding  in 
all  natural  products,  nmst  have  seemed  little  short  of  an  Eldorado ; 
and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  from  the  days  of  Herodotus 
downwards  the  land  of  India  shonld  have  had  such  an  interest 
for  the  natives  of  the  West.  History,  moreover,  shows  that  what- 
ever city  or  nation  has  been  the  channel  of  connection  between  it 
and  the  Western  Avorld,  that  city  or  nation  has  for  the  time  being 
risen  to  opulence  and  power.  From  this  source,  in  pre-Christian 
times,  Arabia,  Tyre,  Palmyra,  and  Alexandria  derived  most  of 
their  greatness.  Later  on  we  find  the  same  enriching  stream 
flowing  uj)  the  Persian  Gulf  to  Baghdad,  and  afterwards  to 
Venice  and  Genoa,  till,  in  1498,  Vasco  da  Gama's  discovery  of  a 
new^  route  to  the  East,  by  way  of  the  Cape,  diverted  the  trade  into 
other  channels,  and  so  caused  the  Portuguese,  Dutch,  French  and 
English  to  come  successively  to  the  front. 

HISTORY. 

"  Of  the  history  of  India  in  the  times  before  the  Christian  era 
we  know  but  little,  and  that  little  is  so  mixed  up  with  mythological 
fable  that  small  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  it.  All  that  we  know 
for  certain  is  that  in  very  early  times — probably  about  two  thou- 
sand years  before  Christ — the  ancestors  of  the  present   Hindu 

177 


178  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

people  came  into  India  from  the  northwest,  and  gradually  overran 
the  wiiole  country  ;  hut  tiie  first  invasion  from  the  Wes^t  of  which 
wc  have  anythinir  like  a  clear  historical  account  was  that  of  the 
Mohammedans,  who,  in  A.  i).  GoG,  landed  on  the  west  coast  of 
India  in  order  to  ])lunder  the  town  of  Tanna.  In  the  following 
century  they  appeared  at  Milltan,  and  from  a.  d.  714  to  750  they 
held  possession  of  Sindh.  For  two  centuries  after  this  India 
enjoyed  immunity  from  their  depredations,  until  the  time  of  Sa- 
buktegin  and  his  famous  son,  Sultan  Mahnu'id  of  Ghuzni.  Be- 
tween A.  I).  1001  and  1024  !Mahmud  invaded  Hindustan  no  less 
than  twelve  times,  and,  inflamed  with  irrepressihle  zeal  for  the 
destruction  of  idols,  destroyed  some  of  the  most  famous  shrines  of 
the  Hindus,  giving  up  to  ])lunder  some  of  the  principal  seats  of 
their  religion.  One  of  Mahmud's  successors — Shahah-ud-din  or 
Moliammed  Ghori  (a.  d.  1157  to  1196) — succeeded  in  converting 
the  chief  Hindu  kingdoms  into  dependencies,  and  these,  in  A.  n. 
1206,  were  formed  into  an  independent  kingdom,  of  which  Kutub- 
lul-din,  once  a  slave,  became  the  first  ruler.  The  dynasty  of  the 
slave  kings  lasted  from  A.  d.  1206  to  1288,  when  it  wa.>*  succeeded 
by  the  house  of  Khilji,  of  which  the  second  king,  Alla-ud-din, 
may  be  mentioned,  because  he  was  the  fii-st  to  carry  the  crescent  in 
triumph,  in  A.  i).  1294,  across  the  Vindhya  mountains  into  the 
Deccan,  and  afterwards  into  South  India.  During  the  rule  of  the 
next,  or  Toghlak,  dynast)''  (a.  d.  1321  to  1414)  one  of  the  most 
memorable  events  wius  the  invasion  of  India  by  Timour  Beg  or 
Tamerlane,  and  his  proclamation  as  emperor  of  India  at  Delhi  on 
the  17th  of  Deceniber,  l.'>98.  He  did  not.  however,  remain  him- 
self in  India,  but  for  thirty-six  yeare  (a.  d.  1414  to  1450)  some 
Seiads  professed  to  govern  in  his  name.  To  them  succeeded  the 
Lodi  dynasty  (a.  d.  1450  to  1526),  and  after  them  the  Moguls. 
The  first  Mogul  emperor,  Baber,  claimed  the  throne  of  India  in 
virtue  of  his  descent  from  Tamerlane,  but  had  to  make  his  claim 
good,  iis  others  before  and  since,  by  the  jwwer  of  the  sword. 
During  the  earlier  jieriod  of  this  dynasty — the  last  representative 
of  which  was  put  forward  by  the  mutinous  Sepoys,  in  1857,  as 
the  rightful  sovereign  of  the  country — India  attained  a  high  degree 
of  power  and  ])rosperity ;  but  after  the  death  of  the  emperor  Au- 
rungzib,  in  1707,  the  emperors  of  Delhi  became  mere  puppets, 
and  were  unable  either  to  curb  the  ambition  of  powerful  viceroys, 
who  seized  the  opportunity  for  rendering  themselves  independent, 
or  to  resist  the  growing  power  of  the  Mahrattas  and  Sikhs  and 
other  external  enemies  who  threatened  the  empire.  Thus,  in  1739, 
Nadir  Shah,  the  king  of  Persia,  capture<l  Delhi,  which  was  then 
given  uj)  to  carnage  and  ])lun(ler;  and  in  1758  Ahmed  Shah  Ab- 
diili,  the  Afghan  king,  subjected  to  the  same  cruel  treatment  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Mogul  capital.    This  state  of  general  anarchy  and 


THE    MISSIONS  IN   INDIA.  179 

disorder  was  at  last  happily  terminated  by  the  establishment  of  the 
British  supremacy,  under  whose  rule  the  people  of  India  have  en- 
joyed complete  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  have  attained  a 
greater  degree  of  order  and  security  than  they  had  ever  previously 
known." 

The  beginnings  of  the  British  authority  in  India  were  small 
enough.  A  little  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago 
the  East  India  Company  (first  formed  for  trading  purposes  in 
1660)  had  but  half  a  dozen  factories  dotted  over  different  parts 
of  India,  and  could  only  maintain  a  very  precarious  hold  even 
in  these.  And  this  was  all.  The  rise  of  British  political  su- 
premacy in  Hindustan  may  best  be  dated  from  the  battle  of 
Plassy,  when,  on  June  23,  1757,  Robert  Clive,  with  a  force  of 
only  three  thousand  men,  not  one-third  of  whom  were  English, 
gained  the  first  great  victory  over  the  Nawab  Nazim  of  Bengal, 
one  of  the  Viceroys  of  the  Mogul  emperor.  Within  the  limits 
of  this  paper  it  is  not  possible  to  relate  in  detail  how  the  servants 
of  the  English  company  found  themselves  in  constant  collision 
with  the  French  and  other  Eui-opean  nations,  and  how  the  suc- 
cess which  usually  attended  their  arms  made  the  native  chiefs 
anxious  to  secure  their  alliance,  and  how  the  wars  in  which  tliey 
engaged  led  to  the  gradual  extension  of  the  British  empire  from 
Cape  Comorin,  in  the  extreme  south,  to  Peshawar,  in  the  far 
north  ;  and  how,  while  in  one  quarter  the  maritime  provinces  of 
Burmah  have  become  British  possessions,  in  an  opposite  direction 
the  contjuest  of  the  Punjab  and  Sindh  has  brought  the  English  to 
the  gates  of  central  Asia.  It  will  suffice  to  state  that  the  empire 
in  India  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  entrust  to  the  stewardship 
of  Great  Britain  covers  an  area  of  1,486,319  square  miles  (nearly 
equaling  that  of  China  proper),  with  a  population  of  240,000,- 
000.  This  includes  the  territory  of  some  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
three  feudatory  chiefs,  covering  an  extent  of  589,315  square 
miles,  with  a  population  of  about  50,000,000 ;  the  area  under 
direct  British  rule  consists  of  904,049  square  miles,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  190.000,  000. 

By  a  census  taken  in  1871-72  of  the  population  under  British 
rule,  it  appeared  that  the  Hindus  numbered  139,248,568  and  the 
Mohammedans  40,882,537.  If  to  these  be  added  some  35,000,- 
000  Hindus  and  some  10,000,000  Mohammedans  under  native 
rule,  then  the  aggregate  of  Hindus  will  be  174,000,000  and  of 
Mohammedans  about  51,000,000  or  a  large  share  of  the  aggre- 
gate population  of  the  world.  The  terra  '  Hindu '  in  the  cen- 
sus, however,  includes  many  of  the  aboriginal  population  of 
India  and  others  who,  strictly  speaking,  are  outside  the  pale  of 
Hinduism.  The  remainder  of  the  population  of  British  India 
is  made  up  of  Sikhs  (1,174,436),  Buddhists  and  Jains  (2,832,- 


180 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 


851),  'Christians'  (896,658),  and  'others'  (5,527,998).  The 
'  Christians  '  in  the  ceni-us  returns  include  Europeans,  Eurasians,* 
and  natives — Protestants  and  Human  Catholics.  The  '  native 
Christians '  are  given  as  just  under  (»0(),((00,  of  whom  three-fourths 
are  Romanists ;  but  this  excludes  Travancore  and  the  other 
semi-independent  states.  The  subjoined  tabular  statement,  how- 
ever, not  only  shows  how  the  population  is  distributed  through 
the  diHerent  territorial  divisions  into  which  India  has  been 
divided  for  administrative  purposes,  ?'«c/wf/<7*^  the  semi-independ- 
ent states,  but  also  embodies  the  results  of  a  careful  enumeration 
made  at  the  close  of  1871,  showing  the  progress  made  in  each 
division  in  spreading  the  gospel  by  the  united  labors  of  all  the 
Protestant  missionary  societies  now  at  work  in  Jndia.  This  re- 
turn shows  that  the  native  Protestant  Christians  Ijave  increased 
from  91,092  in  1850  to  224,258  in  1871,  and  the  native  ministers 
during  the  same  ])eriod  from  21  to  225.  This  is  exclusive  of 
Ceylon  and  Burmah.  The  government  report  of  1873  on  the 
moral  and  material  progress  of  India  gave  the  number  of  native 
Protestant  Christians  sus  318,000  ;  but  this  included  Ceylon  and 
Burmah.  There  has  been  a  very  considerable  increase  in  the 
last  seven  years,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  that  figure  is 
now  reached  without  reckoning  Ceylon  and  Burmah." 


Population  ?;  ffi]  S  -la  §.£-££ 
(according  to  p 'E  oj  £  !  .i:  -^ "S  .5 '-S 
Censusof  1 -Sf  §■' .^^  1  «..2^:5  | 


1872). 


a>  o ' 


Hkngal  Prksidency  : 

Bengal  and  Assam,  . 

N.  W.  Provinces  and 
Oudh, 

Panjiib,    ..... 

Central  India  (in- 
cluding Nizdm's 
doniinionss,  Berars, 
and  Kajputana),    . 

Madras  Presidency: 

(Including  Mysore, 
C(M)rg  and  Travan- 
core),     

Bombay  Presidency: 

(Including  Sindh),  . 


C9,93S,()52j  106 

44,908,449      74 
22,910,946     38 


39,145,996 


38,531.949 


25,647,818 


17 


196 


57 


241,830,810    488 


35 


131 

20 


225 


46,968, 

7,779 
1,870 


2,509 

160,955 
4,177 


Ea 


t224,258 


13,502 

3,031 
701 


665 

33,820 
1,591 


Pupils  under 
Christian  in- 
struction. 


t52810 


Boys. 

Girls. 

22,297 

5,653 

13,033 
8,679 

4,232 
1,868 

5,459 

671 

39,998 

13,668 

6,055 

1,119 

95,511 

27,211 

*  Persons  of  mixed  blood. 

t  A  carefully  compiled  census  shows,  that  in  1881,  there  were  in  India  alone,  417,000 
Protestant  Christians,  and  of  this,  113,000  were  communicants.. 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  181 

Looking  at  India  from  a  geographical  standpoint,  we  find  it  to 
be  an  irregularly-shaped  territory  lying  between  latitude  8°  and 
-')5°  north  and  longitude  67°  and  92°  east.  Its  boundaries  are 
the  Bay  of  Bengal  and  Burmah  on  the  cast,  the  Himalaya  moun- 
taint^  on  the  northeast,  the  river  Indus  and  the  Arabian  Sea  on 
the  northwest  and  west.  The  Vindhya  mountains  extend  from 
the  western  side  almost  to  the  Ganges  in  the  parallels  of  latitude 
from  23°  to  25°.  South  of  this  range  the  country  is  called  the 
Deccan,  and  sometimes  Peninsular  India.  The  country  to  the 
north  of  these  hills  is  called  Hindustan,  though  this  title  (as  we 
have  already  seen)  is  also  applied  to  the  whole  country.  The 
greater  part  of  this  country  possesses  a  soil  of  great  fertility, 
])articularly  the  immense  plains  watered  by  the  Ganges  and  its 
tributaries,  embracing  perhaps  four  hundred  thousand  square 
miles.  These  plains,  for  the  most  part  of  extremely  rich,  loamy 
and  alluvial  soil,  are  amongst  the  most  fertile  and  densely-iBhab- 
ited  regions  of  the  earth.  The  climate  during  most  of  the  year  is 
extremely  warm.  For  a  few  months,  beginning  about  the  first  of 
April,  the  heat  is  intense.  The  thermometer  during  the  months 
of  May  and  June  ranges  from  110°  to  120°  in  the  shade,  and 
from  150°  to  170°  in  the  sun's  rays.  The  great  heat  is  modified 
by  the  setting  in  of  the  periodical  rains.  These  generally  begin 
about  the  middle  of  June  and  continue  for  three  or  three  and  a 
half  months.  The  rainy  is  succeeded  by  the  cold  season,  cover- 
ing a  period  of  four  or  five  months.  Perhaps  no  more  delight- 
ful climate  can  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  world  than  that 
enjoyed  by  the  residents  in  northern  India  during  this  season  of 
the  year ;  and  it  is  more  particularly  to  this  part  of  the  country 
that  the  statements  in  this  section  refer. 

RACES   AND   LANGUAGES. 

In  order  to  any  right  understanding  of  India,  it  is  important  to 
keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  it  is  not  inhabited  by  a  homogeneous 
people,  having  one  language  and  one  religion.  On  the  contrary 
we  find  there  a  variety  of  races,  religions  with  but  little  if  any- 
thing in  common,  and  languages  as  distinct  as  those  spoken  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  In  the  lapse  of  time  the  distinctive  charac- 
ter of  the  several  races  has  been  greatly  modified  by  their  admix- 
ture through  intermarriages.  The  main  divisions  from  which  all 
have  sprung  may  be  classed  in  three  groups — the  Aryan  or  Indo- 
European,  the  Semitic,  and  the  non- Aryan. 

It  is  ascertained  that  there  are  not  less  than  ninety-eight  lan- 
guages current  in  India,  besides  various  dialects.  Of  the  languages, 
some  are  spoken  by,  it  may  be,  only  a  few  thousands  of  people  ; 


182  niSTORIf'AL   SKKTCII    OF 

others  are  used  l)y  millions.  Of  these  latter  the  following  may  be 
spccilied  :  Of  Panjiibi-si»eakinir  |)eoi)le  the  estimated  popidation  in 
1.S71  was  1G,(K>(),0()();  of  those  speakinir  Hindi,  1()(),()0(),()00 ; 
Benu^ili,  8(),00().()()0  ;  Marathi,  1 .'),()( )0,()6o  ;  Tamil,  14,r)()(),(J()(); 
Telugu,  1 ."),.-)()(),()()();  Kanarese,  !»,2a(),000 ;  Gujrati,  7,0()(),0()(). 
The  first  four  languages  named  are  found  in  the  Aryan  or  Indo- 
European  group,  an(i  it  is  among  three  families  of  this  group — 
the  ranjiihi,  Hindi,  and  Maiathi — that  the  mission  w<»rk  in  India 
eoudueted  by  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  is  principally  carried  on. 
In  connection  with  these  three  hinguages  a  dialect  of  the  Hindi 
known  lus  the  Hindustani,  or,  more  sj)ecifieally,  the  Urdu,  nmst.be 
mentioned.  This  is  spoken  by  Mohammedans  throughout  India; 
and  of  this  class  of  religionists  there  are  several  millions  depen- 
dent for  their  acquaintance  with  gosjjel  truth  upon  the  missionaries 
of  our  Board. 

The  same  authority  from  which  we  have  already  quoted  says, 
"The  division  of  religions  does  not  follow  the  ethnological  lines. 
S|)eaking  broadly,  it  may  be  said  that  the  dominant  religion  north 
of  the  Vindhya  range  is  Brahminism,  and  the  dominant  race 
Aryan.  In  the  hilly  tracts  of  central  India  the  population  is  non- 
Aryan  and  j)agan.  In  the  valleys  and  ridges  of  the  Himalayas, 
from  the  Sutlej  to  the  Irawadi,  the  po})ulation  is  non-Aryan,  and 
the  religion  partly  Buddhist,  partly  pagan,  with  isolated  incui-sions 
of  Brahminism.  South  of  the  Vindhya  range  Brahminism  is  the 
dominant  religion,  but  up  to  a  certain  point  the  population  is 
Aryan,  and  beyond  that  Hravidian,  including  the  north  of  Ceylon. 
Mohammedans  are  to  be  found  in  the  large  towns  everywhere,  but 
the  bulk  are  settled  either  in  ea.stern  Bengal,  consisting  of  con- 
verted non-Aryans,  or  in  the  Panjab,  consisting  of  alien  immi- 
grants from  western  Asia.  Zoroastrianism  is  found  only  among 
the  Parsees  (mostly  in  Bombay),  and  Judaism  in  the  singular  set- 
tlement of  Jews  at  Cochin.  Buddhism  is  the  dominant  religion 
of  British  Burmah  and  the  south  of  Ceylon.  Demonolatry  and 
ghost-worship  prevail  in  the  south  of  India  and  Ceylon  ;  Jainism 
(in  which  may  be  seen  traces  of  Buddhism)  is  found  in  detached 
localities  and  very  limited  numbers." 

BEGINNING    OF    MISSIONARY    WORK. 

Protestant  missions  were  first  commenced  in  south  India  by 
Ziegenbalg,  in  1705,  under  the  patronage  of  the  king  of  Den- 
mark. He  was  joined  by  others,  mostly  Germans.  In  Hi}!  the 
celebrated  Schwartz  commenced  his  course  in  the  same  part  of  the 
country.   Considerable  success  followed  their  labors  ;  and  as  there 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  183 

has  always  been  a  larger  relative  number  of  missit)naries  in  that 
part  of  India  than  in  the  north  or  west,  there  is  a  much  more 
Avidely-diffused  knowledge  and  profession  of  Christianity.  It  is 
within  comparatively  a  recent  period  that  missionaries  began  their 
work  in  the  presidencies  of  liengal  and  Bombay  ;  while  in  the 
Northwest  Provinces  the  missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  are 
of  still  more  recent  date. 

The  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  in 
India  is  carried  on  by  the  missionaries  and  native  helpers  labor- 
ing within  the  bounds  of  the  Lodiana,  Furrukhabud  and  Kolha- 
pore  missions.  These  will  be  considered  in  the  order  of  their 
establishment. 

It  was  before  the  organization  of  the  present  Board,  and  while 
the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was  still  in  existence, 
that  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  now  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board,  and  the  Rev.  William  Reed  were  sent  to 
India  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  work  which  the  Presbyterian 
Church  had  resolved  to  carry  on  in  that  land.  The  selection  of 
the  particular  field  in  which  they  should  begin  their  labors  was 
left  to  their  judgment  after  consultation  with  friends  of  the  work 
in  India.  Leaving  America  in  May,  1833,  they  reached  Calcutta 
in  October  of  the  same  year,  and  after  getting  the  best  informa- 
tion available,  they  decided  to  begin  the  work  at  Lodiana,  a  then 
frontier  town  of  the  Northwest  Provinces,  and  bordering  upon 
the  Panjab,  a  territory  which  at  that  time  was  under  the  control 
of  Ranjit  Singh,  a  Sikh  chief  Dr.  Lowrie,  in  his  "  Two  Years 
in  India,"  after  stating  some  more  general  reasons  which  influ- 
enced his  colleague  and  himself  in  their  decision,  says,  "  Having 
now  the  history  of  nearly  seventeen  years  to  confirm  the  opinion, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  (Lodiana)  was  on  many  accounts  prefer- 
able to  any  other  as  a  point  from  which  to  commence  our  efforts. 
Other  cities  had  a  larger  population,  and  could  be  reached  in 
less  time  and  at  less  expense,  but  at  no  other  could  more  favor- 
able introducing  influences  have  been  enjoyed  ;  at  no  other  could 
our  position  have  been  more  distinctly  marked,  nor  our  charac- 
ters and  object  more  accurately  estimated  by  the  foreign  resi- 
dents of  the  upper  provinces  ;  at  no  other  were  we  less  likely  to 
find  ourselves  laboring  '  in  another  man's  line  of  things  made 
ready  to  our  hand,'  or  to  occupy  ground  that  other  bodies  of 
Christians  would  shortly  cultivate  ;  and,  not  to  insist  on  the  im- 
portant consideration  of  health,  no  other  place  could  be  more 
eligible  in  its  relations  to  other  and  not  less  dark  regions  of  the 
earth  in  its  facilities  for  acquiring  a  number  of  the  languages 
chiefly  spoken  in  those  parts." 

It  was  not,  however,  without  afflictive  dispensations  that  the 


184  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

mission  work  was  to  be  begun.  While  Messrs.  Lowrie  and  Reed 
were  detained  at  Calcutta,  it  became  evident  that  Mre.  Lowrie's 
health,  which  had  been  impaired  before  leaving  America,  was 
rapidly  tailing,  and  on  the  21st  of  November  she  was  called  to 
Jier  rest.  In  view  of  Mrs.  Lowrie's  illness  it  had  been  deter- 
mined that  Mr.  and  Mi-s.  Reed  should  proceed  without  their 
colleague.>i  to  Lodiana.  This  arrangement,  however,  was  recon- 
sidered and  j)reparations  were  made  to  remain  for  the  time  in 
Calcutta,  Before  the  expiration  of  the  time,  it  became  clear  that 
]\Ir.  Reed's  health  was  such  as  not  to  warrant  his  proceeding 
further,  and  the  conclusion  wa.s  reached  that  he  should  return  to 
America.  Taking  passage,  with  his  wife,  in  July,  1834,  in  a 
ship  bound  for  Philadelpliia,  a  sad  farewell  was  given  to  many 
cherished  hopes.  Mr.  Reed  was  not  permitted  to  reach  home. 
His  death  occurred  only  three  weeks  after  leaving  Calcutta. 

Dr.  Lowrie  says,  "  1  reached  Lodiana,  my  i)ost  of  missionary 
duty,  on  the  5th  of  November,  1834.  This  was  nearly  eighteen 
months  after  leaving  Philadelphia  ;  and  it  serves  to  show  the 
manner  in  which  distant  places  have  been  connected  with  each 
other  by  the  providence  of  Him  who  beholds  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  at  one  view,  that  a  messenger  from  churches  in  the 
western  hemisphere,  after  traversing  nearly  seventeen  thousand 
miles  of  the  braad  ocean,  and  penetrating  thirteen  hundred 
miles  further  towards  the  heart  of  Asia,  should  at  last  find 
his  sphere  of  labor  in  a  city  unknown  even  by  name  to  those 
by  whom  he  was  sent,  when  his  journey  was  at  first  under- 
taken." 

It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  commentary  on  the  above,  and  as 
showing  that  the  world  is  growing  smaller,  as  it  were,  in  order 
that  it  may  come  within  the  grasp  of  the  Church,  that  the  jour- 
ney to  Lodiana,  which  at  that  time,  by  ordinary  modes  of  travel, 
could  not  have  been  performed  in  less  than  seven  or  eight 
months,  can  now  be  made  within  thirty-five  days. 

The  stations  which  were  successfully  established  in  the  North- 
west Provinces  and  in  the  Panjab  brought  evangelizing  agen- 
cies to  bear  upon  large  portions  of  the  populations  of  those 
territories.  In  the  annexed  table  a  list  of  these  stations  is 
given,  arranged  according  to  the  date  of  their  establishment. 

LODIANA  MISSION. 

1834.     Lodiana,  1100  miles  northwest  of  Calcutta. 
1836.     Saharanjiur,  130  miles  southeast  of  Lodiana. 

1836.     Sabathu,  110  miles  east  of  Lodiana,  in  the  lower  Iliamalaya  moun- 
tains. 
1846.    Jalandar,  30  miles  west  of  Lodiana. 
1848.    Ambala,  55  miles  southeast  of  Lodiana. 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  185 

1849.     Lahore  (the  political  capital  of  the  Panjab),  1225  miles  northwest  of 

Calcutta. 
1853.     Dehra,  47  miles  east  of  Saharanpur. 
1855.     Rawal  Pindi,  160  miles  northwest  of  Lahore. 
185<i.     Rurki,  20  miles  southeast  of  Saharanpur. 
1867.     Hoshyarpore,  45  miles  north  of  Lodiana. 

FURRUKHABAD    MISSION. 

1836.  Allahabad,  596  miles  northwest  of  Calcutta. 

1838.  Futtehgurh,  723  miles  northwest  of  Calcutta. 

1843.  Furrukhabad,  near  Futtehgurh. 

1843.  Mainpuri,  40  miles  west  of  Futtehgurh. 

1853.  Futtehpore,  587  miles  northwest  of  Allahabad. 

1863.  Etawah,  32  miles  south  of  Mainpuri. 

1873.  Gwalior,  in  Seindia's  dominions. 

KOI.HAPORE    MISSION. 

1870.     Kolhapore,  southeast  of  Bombay.     Original  mission  begun  1853. 
1873.     Ratnagiri,  70  miles  northwest  of  Kolhapore. 
1877.     Panhala,  14  miles  north  of  Kolhapore. 

The  character  of  the  people  determined,  to  a  large  degree,  the 
nature  of  the  agencies  employed ;  and  since  at  the  various  stations, 
with  some  modifications,  similar  agencies  were  used,  it  will  be  un- 
necessary to  describe  in  detail  the  work  at  these  several  points. 


RELIGIONS. 

Brahminism. — By  far  the  larger  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
northern  India  adhere  to  the  Brahminical  faith ;  in  this  part  of 
the  country  the  Mohammedans  are  to  the  Hindus  in  the  proportion 
of  probably  one  to  six,  although  in  the  Panjab  the  proportion  is 
much  larger.  In  reply  to  the  question  "  What  is  Brahminism  ?  " 
the  writer  will  be  permitted  to  quote  Avhat  he  has  written  in  an- 
other place. 

"To  the  eye  of  the  casual  observer  Brahminism  is  the  religious 
idea  expressed  in  a  polytheistic  form.  In  it  deity  is  incarnated  in 
various  forms  of  man  or  beast,  or  represented  by  inanimate  objects, 
until,  as  the  natural  result  of  this  fearful  departure  from  God,  the 
original  conception  is  lost  sight  of,  and  the  symbol  takes  the  place 
of  that  for  which  it  stands.  (Romans  i.  21-25.)  The  avatars  or 
incarnations  of  the  Supreme  Being  are  few  in  number,  but  nature 
is  ransacked  to  find  a  sufficient  number  of  objects  in  which  He 
may  be  enshrined.  Three  hundred  and  thirty-three  millions  of 
inferior  deities  find  place  in  the  imaginary  Pantheon  of  the  Hin- 
dus. The  river  Ganges  is  the  goddess  Gunga,  born  on  the  snow- 
capped range  of  the  Himalayas  from  the  forehead  of  Brahm,  as 
Minerva  from  the  head  of  Jupiter.     At  Allahabad  this  river,  re- 


18G  niSTOKICAL   SKKTCII    OF 

ceiviiifi;  into  its  cmhraeo  the  scarcely  less  sacred  Jumna,  is  joined 
underground  by  a  third  stream  descending  direct  from  heaven,  and 
thus  a  trinity  of  streams  is  formed,  which  to  the  devout  Hindu  is 
the  very  portal  to  the  skies.  But  not  the  rivers  alone:  the  trees, 
the  fountains,  a  rock,  a  stone,  is  made  sacred  by  the  indwelling  of 
some  divinity.  There  is  a  certain  tree,  the  trunk  of  whicli  is 
a  god,  while  each  branch,  twig,  and  leaf,  represents  an  inferior 
deity. 

"  But  all  this  is  for  one  class  of  minds.  The  Hindu  religion 
adapts  itself  readily  to  all  classes.  It  is,  indeed,  a  vagary  of  the 
imagination  rather  than  a  religion  of  the  heart.  Thus,  whilst  it 
is  with  some  a  pure  polytheism,  as  held  by  othei*s  it  is  sheer  ])an- 
theisni.  The  writer  once  asked  a  Hindu,  Parmeshivar  ht/ian 
half  ('where  is  God?')  The  reply  was,  Ap  Pa rmeahwar  hain 
('your  Honor  is  God').  But  we  need  not  be  flattered  by  such 
distinction,  for  to  the  Pantheist,  God  is  inseparable  from  His  cre- 
ation. As  the  Hindu  states  it,  God  is  without  a  second — that  is, 
besides  Him  there  is  nothing.  To  account  for  sin  the  Hindu  phil- 
osophei-s  will  tell  you  that  the  soul,  a  spark  struck  from  the  source 
of  all  life  and  light,  has  through  its  union  with  the  flesh  become 
contaminated.  In  successive  births,  however,  the  accretions  of 
sin,  will  be  removed,  till  at  the  last  the  soul,  regaining  its  original 
purity,  will  be  absorbed  into  the  Infinite. 

"  This  religious  imposture  was,  by  the  same  hands  that  in  the 
far-distant  past  constructed  it,  interwoven  into  the  social  system 
of  the  Hindus ;  and  so  skillfully  was  the  work  performed  that  it 
would  seem  impossible,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  for  those  who 
are  born  within  the  meshes  of  this  net  ever  to  escape.  Never  was 
more  consummate  wisdom  displayed  by  men  than  was  shown  by 
the  Hindu  priests  of  a  pre-historic  age,  when  they  perfected  a  sys- 
tem which  should  at  once  secure  its  own  perpetuation  and  the  su- 
premacy, social  and  religious,  of  its  founders.  The  web  of  caste 
wa.s  indeed  artfully  woven.  It  is  a  social  system  strengthened  and 
guarded  by  religious  sanctions,  or,  if  you  ])lease,  it  is  a  religious 
system  guarded  by  social  sanctions.  The  Brahmin,  its  originator, 
is  the  centre  and  circumference  of  this  system.  With  reference 
to  it  he  formed  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist.  He 
sprung  from  the  head  of  Bralim,  and  unites  in  himself  all  the 
attributes  of  him  who  is  without  form,  all-wise,  all-powerful.  The 
lirahmin  stands  upon  the  apex  of  the  social  and  religious  pyramid. 
Next  to  him  are  the  Kshatryas  or  warrior  caste,  springing  from 
the  l)rea.st  of  Brahm ;  then  the  Vaisyas  or  merchant  chuss,  de- 
scending from  his  loins;  last  of  all  the  Sudras  or  laboring  class, 
issuing  from  his  feet.  And  during  all  the  centuries  since  this 
system  was  contrived,  these  castes  have  held  the  same  relative 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  187 

position,  immorality  or  crime,  however  black,  causing  no  descent 
from  the  higher  to  the  lower ;  virtue,  however  conspicuous,  secu- 
ring no  ascent  from  the  lower  to  the  higher." 

Mohammedanism. — As  to  Mohammedanism,  the  creed  of  Islam 
is  very  simple:  There  is  one  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  apostle. 
The  religion  of  the  followers  of  Mohammed  begins,  and  very  often 
ends,  with  this.  It  is  a  religion  without  a  saviour.  The  most  that 
its  adherents  have  to  hope  for  is,  that  Mohammed  will  intercede 
for  them:  but  their  intercessor  did  not  claim  to  be  without  sin, 
much  less  did  he  claim  to  be  divine.  When  it  is  stated  that  the 
Mohammedan  conception  of  God  is  purer  than  that  of  the  Hindu, 
all  has  been  said  that  can  be  in  favor  of  his  religion  as  compared 
with  the  idolatrous  religion  which  it  antagonizes.  While  the 
Koran  is  for  the  Mohammedans  of  India  The  Book,  still  there 
are  many  and  grave  departures  from  its  teachings  found  in  the 
practice  of  the  follower  of  the  prophet.  If  they  have  to  some 
extent  acted  upon  the  idolatrous  religion  around  them — at  least 
on  its  social  side — they  in  turn  have  been  acted  upon  by  being 
led  to  engage  in  various  idolatrous  practices. 

A  feature  which  characterizes  both  these  religions  is  the  elas- 
ticity of  which  they  are  capable.  The  Hindu  religion,  within 
the  caste  lines  which  are  determined  by  birth,  has  a  charity 
broad  enough  to  admit  every  form  of  belief  or  disbelief;  in  other 
words,  being  born  a  Hindu  and  conforming  to  the  prescribed 
ritual,  you  may  believe  what  you  choose.  This  being  the  case, 
the  writer  was  not  greatly  surprised  to  find  the  name  of  Christ 
written  interchangeably  with  the  names  of  their  gods  upon  the 
walls  of  a  Hindu  temple.  And  thus  with  the  religion  of  Islam  : 
only  repeat  the  Kalama,  the  creed  given  above,  and  it  matters 
not  what  you  believe  or  what  you  are.  It  is  not  strange  that  re- 
ligions so  insensible  to  the  moral  quality  of  their  adherents,  and 
which,  while  satisfying  the  demands  of  a  depraved  conscience, 
require  no  crucifixion  of  the  heart's  lusts,  should  have  a  fascina- 
tion for  their  followers  most  difficult  to  overcome. 

Sikhs. — With  reference  to  the  Sikhs,  the  only  other  class  of 
religionists  which  need  be  particularly  mentioned,  and  who  are 
found  principally  in  the  Panjab,  Dr.  LowTie,  in  his  "  Two  Years 
in  Upper  India,"  remarks  as  follows :  "  The  Sikhs  are  said  not  to 
constitute  more  than  a  twelfth  or  fifteenth  part  of  the  population 
of  the  Panjab.  They  evidently  are  much  more  allied  to  the 
Hindus  than  to  the  Mussulmans  in  their  worship  and  customs. 
The  system  of  caste  prevails  more  or  less  among  all  these  sects, 
though  in  regard  to  the  Sikhs  and  Mohammedans  it  is  not  en- 
joined by  their  religion,  or  rather  it  is  contrary  to  their  creed, 
especially  to  that  of  the  Sikhs ;  but  throughout  India  usage  is 


188  HISTORICAL  SKETCH    OF 

all-powerful.     Hindus,  wlu'u  they  become  Sikhs,  do  not  renounce 
caste,  excei)t  as  it  hears  on  one  or  two  inferior  points. 

"  The  religion  of  the  Sikhs  is  descril)ed  as  a  creed  of  pure 
deism,  hlended  with  the  belief  of  all  the  absurdities  of  Hindu 
niytholoiry  and  the  fables  of  Mohaniniedanisni.  Nanak  Shah, 
the  founder  of  this  relij2;ion,  professed  a  desire  to  reform,  but  not 
to  destroy  the  religion  of  the  sect  in  which  he  was  born,  and  en- 
deavored to  reconcile  the  jarring  faiths  of  Brahma  and  Moham- 
med l)y  persuading  each  to  reject  particular  parts  of  their  respec- 
tive belief  and  usag(.\s." 

LODIANA    MISSION. 

It  was  among  the  millions  of  the  people  of  the  Northwest 
Provinces  and  the  Panjab  holding  such  faiths  as  these,  all  of 
which  are  opposed  to  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  that  our  mission- 
aries began  and  have  continued  their  labors.  Providence  con- 
spired most  wonderfully  to  open  the  way  before  the  })ioneers  in 
this  work.  Lahore,  the  capital  of  the  Panjab,  wjis  regarded  as 
the  objective  point  by  the  first  of  oui  missionaries  sent  to  India, 
and  much  of  the  work  done  at  Lodiana  for  several  years  was  in 
preparation  tor  the  time  when  an  advance  might  be  made  in  this 
direction.  In  1849  this  time  came.  Ranji't  Singh  dying,  left  no 
successor  capable  of  wielding  his  iron  sceptre.  "  The  country 
soon  fell  into  a  state  of  anarchy,  under  the  leaders  of  the  army 
which  he  had  trained  ;  and  they  were  so  elated  with  mistaken 
views  of  their  own  power  as  to  resolve  on  the  overthrow  of  the 
British  dominion  in  India.  For  this  purpose,  unprovoked,  they 
crossed  the  Sutlej  into  British  territory.  Defeated,  they  with- 
drew, but  a  second  time,  equally  without  provocation,  these 
chiefs  and  their  fierce  troops  arrayed  themselves  against  their 
former  foe.  The  conflict  between  the  Sikh  and  British  armies 
was  terrible,  and  the  issue  for  a  time  doubtful ;  but  the  end  was 
the  prostration  of  the  Sikh  power  and  the  annexation  of  the 
Panjab  to  the  Anglo-India  empire — a  measure  hailed  with  satis- 
faction by  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  long-op- 
pressed land.  As  the  result  of  these  great  changes  in  the  polit- 
ical condition  of  the  Panjab  the  whole  of  that  interesting  country 
is  now  open  to  the  missionary."* 

Previously  to  the  establishment  of  a  mission  station  at  Lahore, 
the  work  had  been  begun  at  Sabathu,  Saharanpur,  Jalandar 
and  Ambala.  The  station  at  Sabathu,  in  the  lower  range  of 
the  Himalayas,  furnished  a  sanitarium  for  invalid  missionaries 
and  at  the  same  time  gave  opportunity  for  reaching  representa- 

*  "  Two  Years  in  Upper  India." 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  189 

tives  from  the  Hill  tribes,  a  class  of  peo{)le  which,  although  sani- 
taria have  been  established  in  different  ])arts  of  the  Himalayan 
range,  have  not  had  the  attention  paid  to  them  which  their  spir- 
itual needs  demand. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period  than  the  occupation  of  Lahore, 
and  next  succeeding  that,  was  the  beginning  of  mission  work  at 
Dehra,  in  ]853.  The  special  work  at  this  station — the  education 
of  the  daughters  of  native  (Christians — will  be  noticed  subse- 
quently. 

The  next  point  selected  by  the  missionaries  of  the  Lodiana 
mission  was  Eawal  Pindi,  lying  well  up  toward  the  frontier  of 
the  Panjab.  This  station  was  occupied  in  1855,  and  Rurki  in 
1856. 

FURRUKHABAD  MISSION. 

Turning  our  attention  noAV  to  the  Furrukhabad  mission,  we  find 
mission  work  begun  at  several  important  centres.  As  early  as 
1836  Allahabad  had  been  selected  as  a  field  for  evangelistic 
labor  ;  and  although  it  has  not  proved  to  be  the  most  promising, 
still  the  wisdom  of  those  who  chose  this  field  has  been  justified. 
As  the  capital  of  the  Northwest  Provinces,  and  the  headquarters 
of  the  North  India  Bible  and  Tract  Societies,  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  our  mission  should  be  represented  there.  l\j  means  of  the 
Press,  which  for  many  years  was  under  the  management  of  the 
missionaries,  and  is  now  carried  on  by  native  Christians  con- 
nected with  our  mission,  the  influence  of  the  mission  is  widely 
extended,  and  in  addition  to  the  usual  work  of  bazar  and  village 
preaching  and  the  education  of  the  young,  the  facilities  for 
meeting  and  proclaiming  the  gospel  to  representatives 
of  all  parts  of  northern  India,  at  the  annual  mela  or  religious 
gathering,  are  very  great. 

The  next  point  occupied  in  the  Furrukhabad  mission  was  Fut- 
tehgurh,  in  1838.  Shortly  after  the  occupancy  of  this  station  a 
number  of  orphan  children  who  had  been  rescued  from  a  famine 
then  prevailing,  and  had  been  consigned  to  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
Henry  R.  Wilson,  Avere  brought  here  from  Futtehpore,  and  these 
may  be  said  to  have  constituted  a  nucleus  for  the  thriving 
Christian  community  which  is  now  formed  at  Futtehgurh. 

In  the  year  1843  mission  work  was  begun  at  Mainpuri,  forty 
miles  distant  from  Futtehgurh,  and  some  of  the  native  helpers 
were  detached  from  the  Futtehgurh  station  and  took  up  their 
residence  along  with  a  missionary  at  Furrukhabad  City,  of  Avhich 
Futtehgurh  is  a  cantonment.  It  was  not  until  ten  years  after 
that  any  new  station  was  occupied.  In  that  year  work  Avas 
undertaken  at  Futtehpore,  one  of  the  smaller  cities  between  Al- 
lahabad and  Cawnpore. 


190  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

In  tlie  preceiling  slight  sketch  a  glance  is  taken  of  the  mission 
stations  of  our  lioard  a.s  they  existetl  in  northern  India  and  the 
Panjdb  previous  to  the  nnitiny,  which  occurred  in  1857.  At 
that  time  the  work  was  making  favorable  progress,  being  carried 
on  in  the  various  directions  of  preaching,  teaching  and  the 
j)n'paration  of  a  literature  for  the  growing  Indian  Church. 
li'  the  luiropean  jiopulation  generally  had  but  little  rejison  to 
anticipate  impending  danger,  there  was  less  cause  for  any  such 
expectation  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries.  They  had,  many  of 
them,  lived  for  years  among  the  mixed  Hindu  and  Mohammedan 
j)opulation,  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  all  classes.  Their 
schools  had  been  attended  by  children  from  every  csvste.  Even 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  which,  when  faithfully  ])reached, 
could  not  but  antagonize  tlieir  favorite  systems  of  belief,  was 
generally  listened  to  with  respect,  and  at  almost  every  station 
there  were  converts  to  the  truth. 

But  the  whole  European  ))oj)ulation  was  awakened  from  fan- 
cied security  as  if  by  an  earthquake  shock.  Barrackpore  in 
Bengal,  and  Meerut  in  the  Northwest  Provinces,  were  the  first 
to  be  visited,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  whole  country  was  con- 
vulsed. Of  the  mission  stations  of  our  Board,  Lodiana,  Fut- 
tehgurh  and  Allahabad  were  the  greatest  sufferers.  It  was  at  Fut- 
tehgurh  the  blow  fell  most  heavily.  At  the  other  stations  above 
named  the  loss  of  property  was  great,  but  at  Futtehgurh  and 
the  adjoining  station  of  Furrukhabad  ])recious  lives  were  sacri- 
ficed. The  sad  story  of  the  hurried  flight  to  Cawnpore  of  the 
brethren  Freeman,  Campbell,  Johnson  and  McMullen  and  their 
wives,  with  the  two  little  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  ; 
the  capture  of  the  party  at  Bithoor ;  the  dreary  march  thence 
to  Cawnpore,  a  distance  of  eight  miles  ;  the  detention  for  a  night 
in  the  Sivada  Koth'i,  a  house  belonging  to  their  captor  ;  the  trans- 
lation on  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  when  upon  the  parade- 
ground  of  the  station  tliey  fell  before  the  fire  of  their  murderers, — 
these  tragic  events  cannot  be  forgotten  by  the  church  which  was 
so  nobly  rei)resented  by  these  martyred  ones ;  nor  can  their  last 
words,  expressive  of  their  trust  in  the  Saviour,  when  i)assing 
through  this  terrible  ordeal,  be  forgotten.  Only  a  few  of  these 
words  may  be  quoted  here. 

ISIrs.  Freeman  wrote,  "  We  are  in  God's  hands,  and  we  know 
that  He  reigns.  We  have  no  place  to  flee  for  shelter  but  under 
the  covert  of  His  wings,  and  there  we  are  safe.  Not  but  that 
He  may  suffer  our  bodies  to  be  slain.  If  He  does,  we  know  that 
He  has  wise  reasons  for  it.  I  sometimes  think  our  deaths  would 
do  more  good  than  we  would  do  in  all  our  lives;  if  so.  His  will 
be  (hme.  Should  I  be  called  to  lay  down  my  life,  most  joyfully 
will  I  die  for  Him  who  laid  down  His  life  for  me." 


THE    MISSIONS   IN    INDIA.  191 

Mrs.  Johnson  says,  "  Everything  seems  dark  and  doubtful,  but 
that  which  seems  so  mysterious  now  may  be  but  the  bringing 
about  of  a  brighter  (hiy  for  poor  benighted  India.  We  look 
upon  each  day  now  as  our  last ;  but  oh  !  how  delightful  are  our 
seasons  of  prayer,  together  im})loring  the  care  and  protection  of 
that  God  who  alone  can  save  us." 

The  othei-s  wrote  in  a  similar  strain,  and  from  their  writings  it 
is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  the  promises  of  God  in  Christ 
were  very  precious  to  them  until  the  full  fruition  came  in  their 
seeing  the  King  in  His  beauty. 

KOLHAPORE    MISSION. 

The  Kolhapore  mission,  located  in  a  distant  part  of  the  country 
from  the  Northwest  Provinces,  suffered  but  little  during  the 
mutiny.  It  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  refer  to  the  work  in  this 
field.  The  information  is  gathered  from  a  sketch  lately  pub- 
lished. The  territory  occupied  by  this  mission  lies  southwest  of 
Bombay,  and  covers  part  of  the  Deccan.  The  Ghats,  a  range  of 
mountains  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  the  coast,  cut  the  field 
into  two.  The  Kolhapore  state  lies  east  of  this  range,  and  has  a 
population  of  802,691.  The  adjoining  districts  to  this,  in  which 
are  no  missionaries,  have  a  population  of  1,700,000  ;  add  to  this 
the  Concan,  or  the  poi'tion  between  the  Ghats  and  the  sea,  and 
in  which  is  Ratnagiri,  and  there  is  a  population  nearly  as  great, 
or  a  total  of  5,000,000,  who  are  to  be  reached  with  the  truth. 

Kolhapore  is  the  capital  of  the  province  bearing  the  same  name. 
It  contains  a  population  of  some  50,000.  "As  seen  from  a  dis- 
tance the  city  is  beautiful  for  situation.  The  most  commanding 
object,  next  to  the  king's  palace,  is  the  towering,  white  dome  of  a 
very  large  temple.  Few  cities  or  places  in  India  have  so  high  a 
reputation  for  sanctity.  The  favorite  legend  among  the  people  is 
that  the  gods,  in  council,  once  pronounced  it  the  most  sacred  spot 
of  all  the  earth." 

This  city  was  selected  by  Rev.  R.  G.  Wilder,  in  1853,  as  a 
centre  of  missionary  operations.  His  work  had  been  supported 
for  years  by  friends  in  the  United  States  and  in  India,  and  after 
he  had  severed  his  connection  with  the  American  Board, 
it  remained  independent  of  any  church  until  its  transfer  to  the 
Presbyterian  Board  in  1870.  Mr.  Wilder  had  been  privileged  to 
do  a  good  preparatory  work,  and  to  organize  a  church  of  twenty- 
one  members.  Ratnagiri,  on  the  coast,  and  Panhala,  farther  in 
the  interior  than  Kolhapore,  have  been  occupied  as  mission  stations 
within  a  few  years.  The  same  agencies  employed  in  ISTortheru 
India  are  in  operation  in  this  mission  for  making  known  the  story 


1112  IlISTOIUCAL    SKKTCII    OF 

of  rcdctMiiiuir  love.  Tlio  school,  the  ciiTulation  of  books  and 
tracts,  aiid  the  proclamation  of  the  truth  in  chapel  and  on  the 
hiirhway,  have  the  same  object  in  view — to  reach  the  heart,  and 
bring-  men  into  sympathy  with  Christ. 

RESULTS    OF    Tin:    MUTINY. 

After  the  mutiny  it  became  a  question  of  great  interest  how  the 
mission  work  would  be  attected  by  such  a  crisis.  Would  the  bar- 
riers which  liad  previously  existed  be  lowered,  or  would  the  jx'ople 
l)e  niore  disposed  to  reject  the  truth?  It  was  found  that  in  tiie 
good  providence  of  God,  whilst  all  obstacles  were  not  removed, 
still  there  was  more  ready  access  to  the  ])eople.  It  is  thought  by 
many  that  had  the  Jiritish  government  at  that  time  given  uj)  its 
principle  of  neutrality  with  regard  to  religious  matters,  and  taken 
a  decided  stand  in  favor  of  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, much  would  have  been  gained  toward  the  rapid  evangeli- 
zation of  the  country.  But  without  this  having  been  done,  evan- 
gelistic work  has  measurably  advanced.  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion that  the  faith  of  Hindus  and  INIohammedans  in  their  religions 
has  been  shaken  within  the  last  twenty-five  years  to  an  extent 
never  before  known,  and  to-day  India  is  more  accessible  to  gospel 
influences  than  ever  before.  It  would  be  impracticable  in  such 
a  sketch  as  this  to  illustrate  this  proposition  fully.  One  corrobo- 
rative fact  will  be  painted  out  which  has  marked  significance. 
Keference  is  made  to  the  advancement  that  has  been  made  in  the 
education  of  the  women  and  children  of  India.  The  social  sys- 
tems in  this  land  are  such  as  to  })reclude  much  intercourse  be- 
tween the  sexes ;  indeed  the  females  are  to  such  an  extent  se- 
cluded from  the  males  that  they  can  scarcely  be  considered  as 
forming  a  part  of  the  communities  in  which  they  dwell.  Such 
being  the  case,  it  was  in  former  years  almost  impossible  to  bring 
evangelistic  influences  to  bear  upon  the  women  of  India.  Efforts 
in  this  direction  were  made  from  the  beginning  of  the  missionary 
work,  but  with  only  limited  success.  With  exceptional  cases  the 
way  was  barred  to  the  advances  of  the  missionary  ladies  who 
so  earnestly  desired  to  carry  the  gospel  to  their  benighted 
sisters. 

That  there  has  been  a  marked  change  in  this  respect  since  the 
mutiny  is  evident.  The  caste  system  may  be  said  to  remain  un- 
impaired. It  cannot  be  affirmed,  moreover,  that  tiic  Hindus  and 
ISIohammedans  have  any  more  friendly  feeling  toward  their  con- 
quentrs,  or  for  the  religion  which  they  profess.  How  then  is  the 
change  to  be  accounted  for?  To  the  writer  of  this  sketch  the 
reason  for  the  change  is  found  largely  in  the  impulse  given  to 


THE   M8SSI0NS    IN    INDIA.  193 

English  education  as  a  result  of  the  mutiny.  Consequent  upon 
the  transfer  of  the  East  India  Company's  rights  to  the  Crown,  it 
was  goon  perceived  that  the  British  government  intended  to  fur- 
nish the  people  of  India  with  greater  facilities  for  securing  an  edu- 
cation, whether  in  the  vernaculars  or  in  the  English  tongue. 
Graded  schools,  from  those  of  an  elementary  character  to  such  as 
prepared  for  an  entrance  to  the  university,  were  established  all 
over  the  country.  To  these  the  native  boys  and  youth  flocked  in 
great  numbers,  and  year  by  year,  hundreds,  if  not  thousands, 
were  graduated  with  an  education  greatly  superior  to  that  which 
their  parents  had  received. 

Here  an  additional  point  is  to  be  noticed.  Perhaps  in  no  coun- 
try more  than  in  India  is  marriage  the  chosen  lot ;  indeed  for  a 
girl  not  to  marry  at  an  age  which  in  Christian  lands  would  be 
thought  altogether  too  early,  would  be  regarded  as  as  an  unfor- 
tunate thing.  But  for  the  educated  youth  of  the  land  there  must 
be  found  educated  wives ;  hence  the  necessity  was  forced  upon 
parents  to  secure  for  their  daughters  such  an  education  as  would 
fit  them  for  this  new  condition  of  things. 

WORK   AMONG   WOMEN. 

Whether  this  theory  has  or  has  not  any  foundation  in  fact,  it  is 
certain  that  where,  twenty  years  ago,  zenana  teaching  and  girls' 
schools  were  unknown,  now  scores  and  hundreds  of  women  and 
girls  are  taught,  and  this  too  from  God's  Word.  On  every  side 
the  houses  of  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  are  thrown  open  to  the 
visits  of  the  Avives  of  the  missionaries  and  the  single  ladies  who 
have  gone  to  India  for  the  express  purpose  of  teaching.  Girls' 
schools  are  found  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and  it  is  safe  to 
affirm  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  it  will  be  as  difficult 
to  find  in  India  a  girl  Avho  cannot  read  and  write  as  it  would  be 
in  our  own  land. 

In  connection  with  this  topic,  the  reader  must  be  asked  to  look 
in  upon  the  native  Christian  girls'  school  at  Dehra,  a  station  of 
our  Board  situated  in  the  beautiful  valley  between  the  Sewalik 
hills  and  the  lower  ranges  of  the  Himalayas.  This  school,  which 
was  very  small  in  its  beginnings,  has  grown  into  almost  magnifi- 
cent proportions,  and  will  undoubtedly  exert  a  controlling  influ- 
ence upon  the  native  Christian  community  in  northern  India.  The 
present  prosperity  of  this  institution  is,  under  a  kind  Providence, 
largely  due  to  the  wisdom  and  self-denying  zeal  of  the  two  ladies  at 
first  connected  with  it — Mi-s  Herrou,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  David 
Herron,  and  Miss  Catharine  L.  Beatty.  Of  the  former.  Miss 
Beatty  wrote  as  follows :    "  To  Mrs.  Herron's  zeal  and  patience, 


194  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

never  fla^ginir  under  the  heaviest  trials  and  discouragements;  to 
her  peculiar  tact  in  overcoming  difficulties  ;  to  her  skill  in  adapt- 
ing our  best  American  school  systems  so  nicely  to  tlie  widely 
different  habits  of  this  country,  so  as  neither  to  oflend  the  preju- 
dices of  the  pupils  on  the  one  hand,  nor  encourage  the  evils  of 
their  customs  on  the  other, — will  this  school  through  all  time  stand 
as  a  monument."  Respecting  Miss  Beatty,  the  following  record  is 
made  in  the  report  of  the  Lodiana  mission  for  1871 :  "Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Herron  were  joined  by  Miss  Beatty  in  the  spring  of  1863. 
This  lady  then  took  charge  of  the  educational  department,  and 
continued  in  charge  of  it  till  the  end  of  that  year,  when,  Mr. 
Herron  leaving  the  country  af\er  the  death  of  ^Irs.  Herron,  the 
entire  charge  of  the  school  was  committed  to  her.  The  charge 
which  she  then  undertook  was  a  Aveighty  and  responsible  one; 
but  she  proved  herself  fnlly  equal  to  it..  Her  experience  as  a 
teacher,  her  decision  of  character,  and  her  administrative  ability, 
fitted  her  in  no  common  degree  for  the  work.  Her  heart  was  in 
it,  and  she  gave  herself  wholly  to  it.  She  lived  in  the  same  house 
and  sat  at  the  same  table  with  the  children,  and  had  them  under 
her  eye  and  influence  continually.  Their  progress  in  learning, 
their  cultivated  manners,  their  prompt  obedience,  and  their  order 
and  good  conduct,  were  proofs  of  her  ability  and  devotion  that 
aU  could  see,  and  e^ndences  of  a  success  w  hich  is  seldom  attained 
in  so  short  a  time.  The  labor  and  care,  how  ever,  which  she  gave 
to  the  school  were  too  much  for  her  physical  strength.  By  the 
end  of  the  year  1868  her  health  was  so  impaired  that  she  had  to 
seek  rest  and  a  change.  But  in  a  few  months  it  was  evident  that 
her  work  was  done.  Although  not  able  to  walk,  yet  with  char- 
acteristic energy  she  undertook  the  long  and  fatiguing  journey 
home,  where,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1^70,  she  died,  in  the 
midst  of  loving  friends.  There  are  many  in  this  land  who  '  arise 
up  and  call  her  blessed.'  " 

The  erection  of  the  building  now  occupied  by  the  school  was 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Woodside.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Mather,  speaking  of  this  building,  says :  "  The  site 
chosen,  on  high,  open  ground,  is  admirable,  and  the  building 
itself  is  a  model  of  solidity  blended  with  economy."  The  school, 
during  nearly  the  whole  period  of  its  existence  has  been  under 
the  superintendence  of  Rev.  D.  Herron,  while  Miss  Pratt,  Miss 
Craig  and  Miss  Herron  have  had  the  direct  charge  of  it.  Miss  Pen- 
dleton and  Miss  Wherry  are  now  at  the  head  of  it,  and  carry  on 
its  operations  with  undiminished  efficiency.  In  a  paper  read 
before  the  Allahabad  Missionar}-  Conference,  Mr.  Herron  stated 
the  design  of  the  institution  to  be — 

1st.  To  give  the  children  the  comforts  and  advantages  of  a 
home. 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  195 

2d.  To  give  them  the  highest  intellectual  culture  that  they  are 
capable  of  receiving. 

8d.  To  bring  them  to  Christ,  and  to  cultivate  in  them  the 
Christian  virtues. 

4th.  To  lead  the  native  Christians  to  value  the  education  of 
their  daughters  by  making  them  pay  for  their  children's  support 
when  they  are  able  to  do  so. 

Another  step  in  the  direction  of  woman's  work  for  woman  was 
the  establishment  of  the  girls'  school  at  Woodstock.  This  school, 
the  buildings  belonging  to  which  were  presented  to  our  Indian 
missions  by  the  Christian  ladies  of  America,  is  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Mrs.  J.  L.  Scott,  assisted  by  a  corps  of  lady  teachers. 
The  primary  object  of  the  institution  was  to  furnish  an  education 
for  the  children  of  our  missionaries.  The  shape  that  it  finally 
took  was  a  school  of  the  higher  grade,  for  the  instruction  not  only 
of  the  daughters  of  the  missionaries,  and  the  sons  also  up  to  a 
certain  age,  but  also  for  girls,  whether  European,  Eurasian  or 
native  Christian.  The  largest  number  of  the  pupils  is  from  the 
second  class,  of  mixed  European  and  Indian  descent — a  class 
greatly  needing  the  care  and  training  afforded  by  such  a  school. 
Woodstock  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  spur  of  the  Himalayas, 
about  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  school 
is  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition,  and  may  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  permanent  agencies  for  the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom 
in  northern  India. 

It  is  most  gratifying  to  note  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  moving 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  pupils,  and  that  at  a  late  communion 
twenty  or  more  professed  their  faith  in  Christ. 

While  the  improvement  of  the  mental  condition  of  the  females 
of  India  is  sought  as  a  means  toward  supplying  their  spiritual 
need,  the  amelioration  of  their  physical  condition  has  not  been 
disregarded  as  helpful  to  the  same  end.  Work  in  this  direction 
has  been  carried  on  by  lady  medical  missionaries,  and  success 
has  been  attained  at  least  to  the  extent  of  showing  that  multitudes 
of  this  class  who  are  shut  up  in  Indian  households  are  accessible 
to  the  ministrations  of  ladies,  who,  while  they  can  alleviate  physi- 
cal suffering,  have  abundant  opportunity  to  point  to  the  great 
Physician  "  who  healeth  all  our  diseases." 

SEMI-CENTENNIAL, 

The  observance  of  this  anniversary  at  Lodiana,  December  3d 
to  7th,  1884,  was  an  occasion  of  rejoicing  and  profit.  All  wished 
that  Dr.  John  C.  Lowrie,  the  founder  of  the  Indian  mission,  and 
present  senior  Secretary  of  the  Board,  could   have  been  present. 


19f! 


IIISTOUICAL  SKKTCII    OF 


The  Rev.  John  Newton  stated  that  at  the  time  the  mission  was 
organized,  in  18.'U,  there  were  only  four  or  five  missionaries  hibor- 
ing  among  the  fitly  millions  of  the  Northwestern  Provinces  and 
the  Pan  jab.  He  estimated  that  during  the  forty -eight  years  since 
till'  press  had  been  established  at  Lodiana,  it  had  printed  two 
hundred  and  seventy-two  million  pages  in  the  eight  languages 
and  dialects  of  the  Punjab  and  adjoining  districts. 

THK    PRESS. 

The  press  was  one  of  the  earlier  agencies  used  by  our  missions, 
and  it  is  one  that  is  more  and  more  productive  of  good.  In  a 
late  work  on  missions  in  India,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sherring,  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  the  writer  gives  to  the  missions  of  our 
Board  the  credit  of  doing  more  than  any  other  mission  in  the  way 
of  creating  a  Christian  literature.  Too  much  space  would  be  oc- 
cupied in  enumerating  all  that  has  been  done  in  this  direction.  In 
a  general  way  it  may  be  stated  that  commentaries  have  been  pre- 
pared on  (xenesis,  tlie  Psalms,  Isaiah,  the  later  Prophet«,  the  four 
Gospels,  Ephesians  and  Colossians;  a  work  on  theology  was  begun 
by  Dr.  Owen,  and  was  left  uncompleted  at  his  death ;  a  Hindi 
grammar  has  been  prepared,  as  also  a  Hebrew  grammar  in  the 
Urdu  vernacular,  and  other  Avorks  to  assist  theological  student^; 
translations  of  various  standard  works  have  been  made,  and  large 
numbers  of  tracts  composed  and  translated,  which  are  circulated 
by  thou.>jands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  copies  every  year.  Besides 
these  a  hymn-liook  has  been  furnislied  for  the  Indian  Church,  con- 
taining, in  addition  to  original  hymns  and  selections  in  the  native 
metres,  translations  of  many  of  the  choicest  selections  from  En- 
glish and  German  hymnology.  At  Allahabad  a  monthly  maga- 
zine, the  Makhzan  )  Mas'ihl,  or  "  Christian  Treasury,"  is  published 
in  the  ITrdil  language,  for  Christian  families,  and  has  entered  upon 
its  fourteenth  year ;  and  at  Lodiana  the  Nur  Afghan,  or  "  Dis- 
penser of  Light,"  is  doing  good  service  in  the  contest  between 
('hristianity  and  Mohammedanism.  In  the  preparation  of  a  Chris- 
tian literature  some  of  our  native  brethren  have  done  excellent 
service.  One  who  has  lately  passed  away — the  Rev.  Ishwari  Dass — 
prepared  in  the  English  language  an  elementary  work  on  theol- 
ogy, which  received  a  prize  for  excellence.  Another  has  been 
engaged  in  the  translation  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge's  "  Outlines  of 
Theology."  He  also,  besides  translating  a  work  on  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  has  just  brought  out  a  valuable  treatise  on 
the  Trinity. 

Thus  is  the  highway  being  cast  up.  Much  preparatory  work 
has  been  done ;  much,  it  may  be,  remains  to  be  done  before  the 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  197 

chariot  of  the  Lord  shall  appear ;  but  we  know  that  He  shall 
come  whose  right  it  is  to  reign.  Let  us  not  decline  the  work  of 
preparation,  since  this  shall  be  the  consummation.  In  spite  of 
every  difficulty  the  work  has  advanced.  Great  obstacles  have 
been  overcome.  Facilities  for  acquiring  the  language  have  in- 
creased. Thousands  of  youth  are  taught  in  our  schools,  while 
other  thousands  have  gone  out  from  these  schools  with  their  prej- 
udices against  Christianity  diminished  and  in  many  cases  re- 
moved, and  Avith  the  seeds  of  divine  truth  implanted  in  their 
hearts.  Churches  have  been  organized ;  an  indigenous  native 
ministry  is  being  raised  up ;  and  through  the  pi-eaching  of  the 
gospel  souls  are  saved. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  accomplished,  and  having  the  prom- 
ises of  God's  Word  for  our  better  encouragement,  can  we  not 
share  the  aspirations  of  Rev.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson,  who  wrote 
as  follows  ? — 

"  I  watched  the  sun  rise  over  the  Himalayas,  and  as  the  light 
gathered,  the  boundless  plains  of  India  grew  visible,  stretching 
for  a  hundred  miles  to  the  south,  dim  and  still  among  the  shadows; 
but  when  the  sun  rose  and  smote  the  plains  the  shadows  fled 
away,  and  all  the  sounds  of  life  stole  up  into  the  air ;  and  I  longed 
for  that  day  when  Christ  will  rise  in  all  His  glory  over  the  whole 
land — when  the  shadows  of  its  night  and  the  sleep  of  death  shall 
give  place  to  the  shining  of  the  sun  of  righteousness  and  all  the 
waking  of  a  spiritual  life  ;  and  then  I  turned  to  see  the  mountain 
wall,  height  upon  height  of  mighty  mountain  ranges,  and  behind 
them  the  endless  peaks  of  snow%  shining  like  some  bright  path- 
way out  of  this  world  into  another ;  and  I  felt,  in  the  clear  glory 
of  that  sun,  as  if  the  great  ingathering  of  the  heathen  peoples  was 
already  come,  and  that  I  saw 

'  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  'Tis  finished,  aH  is  finished, 

In  sparkling  raiment  bright,  Their  fight  with  death  and  sin  : 

Tlie  armies  of  the  ransomed  saints  Fling  open  wide  the  golden  gates 

Throng  up  the  steeps  of  liglit.  And  let  the  victors  in.'  " 


MISSIONARIES  IN   INDIA,  1885. 

LODIANA    MISSION. 

Rawal  Pindi  :  170  miles  northwest  of  Lahore ;  mission  station 
commenced,  1855;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  J.  F.  Ull- 
mann,  Robert  Morrison  and  his  wife.  Rev.  D.  Herron,  and  Miss 
Margaret  A.  Craig ;  native  Christian  assistants,  ten  Bible  women. 
Outstation:  Murree. 
9 


198  mSTORKAL   SKKTCII    OF 

Laiiokk  :  Tlu'  political  capital  oltlic  l*uiijiib,  122;")  miles  north- 
west of  Calcutta  ;  ini.ssion  station  coniinenced,  184J) ;  missionary 
laborci-s — Kev.  John  Newton  and  his  wife,  Rev.  C.  \V.  Forman 
and  his  wife,  Rev.  P.  C.  JJppal,  INIiss  Thiede  ;  native  Cliristian 
a-isistants — seven.  Kmployi'd  by  the  mission — ]\Irs.  Anderson 
and  the  Misses  Harris. 

Firozepore:  50  miles  southwest  of  Lodiana;  occupied  as  a 
station,  1882;  Rev.  Francis  J.  Newton  and  his  wife,  Mrs  E.  A. 
Morrison  ;  two  native  Christian  assistants ;  two  catechists. 

HosiiYARPORE :  45  miles  north  of  Lodiana ;  mission  station 
commenced,  18G7  ;  Rev.  K.  C.  Chatferjee  and  Rev.  IT.  Abdullah; 
Mt.'<s  Chatierjee;  native  Christian  assistants — nine. 

Jalandiiar  :  120  miles  east  of  Lahore,  30  miles  west  of  Lodi- 
ana; mission  station  commenced,  1846;  missionary  laborers — 
Rev.  B.  I).  Wyckofl"  and  his  wife,  Rev.  GoUtk  Nath,  Miss  Mary 
Pratt;  native  Christian  assistants — eight.  Outstation:  Phillour 
— Rev.  J.  C.  Rose. 

Lodiana:  near  the  river  Sutlej,  1100  miles  north  west  of  Cal- 
cutta;  mission  station  conjmenced,  1834;  missionary  laborere — 
Rev.  Messrs.  Charles  J^.  Newton,  Edward  B.  Newton,  and  James 
M.  jNIcComb,  and  their  wives,  C  W.  Forman,  M.  D.,  Misses  M. 
M.  Given,  C.  E.  Downs,  and  Annie  S.  Geisinger,  Rev.  John  B. 
Dalei<;  native  Christian  assistants — sixteen.  Outstation  at  Jag- 
raon.  Rev.  Ahmad-iShah.  At  Ropar,  Rev.  Matthias,  and  at 
Morinda. 

Ambala  :  55  miles  southeast  of  Lodiana  ;  mission  station  com- 
menced, 1848 ;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Messi-s.  George  S. 
Bergen  and  W.  J.  F.  Morrison,  and  their  wives,  Rev.  Heni-y  C. 
Velte  ;  Rev.  W.  Ba.nten,  Rev.  Sandar  Lai;  native  Cliristian  assist- 
ants— thirteen.  Ouidation  at  Shaliabad ;  Jagadri  outstation. 
Engaged  in  itinerant  Avork — Rev.  INIarcus  C.  Carleton  and  his 
wife  and  Marcus  B.  Carleton,  M.  D. ;  two  helpers. 

Saijatihi:  in  the  lower  Himalaya  INEountains,  110  miles  east 
of  Lodiana;  mission  station  commenced,  1830;  missionary  labor- 
ers— Rev.  Adoli)h  Rudolph  ;  native  Christian  assistant — one. 

Sahauanpur  :  130  miles  southeast  of  Lodiana  ;  mission  station 
commenced,  1830  ;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Elwood  M.  Wherry 
and  Rev.  A.  P.  Kelso,  and  their  wives;  Rev.  Theodore  W.  J. 
Wi/lie ;  native  Christian  assistants — ten.  OuMation  at  MuzaHiir- 
nagur — Rev.  W.  Calderwood  and  his  wife;  Kanwar  Sain. 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    INDIA.  199 

Deiira  :  47  miles  cast  of  Saharanpur  ;  mission  station  com- 
menced, 1853;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Reese  Thackwell  and 
his  -wife,  Miss  Lizzie  M.  Pendleton  and  Miss  Sarah  M.  Wherry ; 
Bev.  G.McMaster;  native  Christian  assistants — eleven;  employed 
by  the  mission — Miss  R.  Evans  and  Miss  A.  Wood ;  zenana  vis- 
itors— the  Misses  Bird.  Outdation  at  Rajpore,  six  miles  from 
Dehra — one  native  catechist.  Woodstock  school — Mrs.  James 
L.  Scott,  Miss  Annie  E.  Scott,  Miss  Mary  Fullerton,  Miss  Irene 
Griffith  and  Miss  Clara  G.  Williamson. 


FURRUKHABAD   MISSION. 

FuTTEHGURH :  on  the  Ganges,  723  miles  northwest  of  Cal- 
cutta; mission  station  commenced  1838;  missionary  laborers — 
Rev.  John  S.  Woodside  and  his  wife ;  Miss  Jennie  Woodside  ; 
native  Christian  assistants — sixteen.      Outstation,  Chabramow. 

FuRRUKHABAi) :  near  to  Futtehgurh ;  mission  station  com- 
menced, 1844  ;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  T.  Edward  Inglis,  and 
his  wife ;  Miss  Jennie  F.  Bell,  M.  D. ;  native  Christian  assistants — 
seventeen.     Employed  by  the  Mission — Miss  Blunt. 

Mynpurie:  40  miles  Avest  of  Futtehgurh;  mission  station 
commenced,  1843 ;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  George  A. 
Seeley  and  George  W.  Pollock  and  their  wives ;  Miss  Elizabeth 
Seeley  and  Miss  Susie  A.  Hutchison;  native  Christian  assistants — 
twelve.     Etah,  outstation. 

Etawah  :  on  the  Jumna,  50  miles  southwest  of  Mynpurie ;  mis- 
sion station  commenced,  1863  ;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Thomas 
Tracy  and  his  wife ;  Miss  C.  Belz,  teacher  and  zenana  visitor ; 
Bev.  Nahihahsh;  native  Christian  assistants — nine.  Two  sub- 
stations. 

Allahabad  :  at  the  junction  of  the  Ganges  and  the  Jumna, 
506  miles  northwest  of  Calcutta;  mission  station  commenced, 
1836;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  James  M.  Alexander 
and  J.  J.  Lucas  and  their  wives ;  Rev.  Henry  Forman ;  Miss  S. 
C.  Seward,  M.  D. ;  Rev.  J.  J.  Caleb ;  native  Christian  assistants — 
twenty-five  teachers,  four  catechists,  six  Scripture-readers  and 
five  Bible-women.  At  Saharanpore,  Rev.  J.  C.  R.  Ewing  and 
his  wife. 

Futtehpore  :  87  miles  north  of  Allahabad ;  station  com- 
menced, 1853;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  James  F.  Holcomb 
and  his  wife. 


200 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 


CJwaliok:  niifssiou  station  coniinenced,  l<S7o;  Mrs.  Joseph 
Warren  and  Bev.  Mohan  Lai ;  three  native  assistants. 

KOLHAPOKE   MISSION. 

Kolhapore:  200  miles  southeast  of  Bombay  ;  mission  station 
commenced,  1H53;  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Board,  1870; 
missionary  hiborers — Kev.  Messrs.  Jcseph  M.  Gohcen  and  (lalen 
W.  Seiler  and  their  wives ;  Mrs.  J.  J.  Hull ;  native  Christian 
assistants — two  licentiate  preachers  and  nine  teachers  and  helpers. 
Three  outstations. 

Ratna(;iri  :  70  miles  northwest  of  Kolhapore ;  mission 
station  commenced  in  1873;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  L.  B. 
Tedford  and  his  wife,  and  two  native  Christian  assistants. 

Panhala:  14  miles  north  of  Kolhapore;  mission  station 
commenced,  1877;  missionary  laborers — Rev.  Geo.  H.  Ferris 
and  his  wife,  Mi.ss  Esther  E.  Patton;  native  Christian  assistants, 
four. 

Sangli  :  East  of  Kolhapore;  station  occupied,  1884;  mi.s- 
ssionary  laborers — Rev.  Joseph  P.  Graham  and  his  wife;  one 
native  assistant. 


Missionaries  in  India,  1833-1886. 

*  Died.    Figures,  Term  of  Service  in  the  Field. 


Alexander,  Rev.  J.  M.,       1866- 
Alexander,  Mrs.,  1866- 

Hacon,  Miss  J.  M.,  1872-1882 

«Barker,  Rev.  W.  P.,  1872-1876 

Barker,  Mrs.,  1872-1876 

Barnes,  Rev.  George  O.,  1855-1861 
Rarnes,  Mrs.,  1855-1861 

*Heuttv,  Miss  C.  L..  1862-1870 

Bell,  Miss. T.  F.,  M.D.,         1884- 
Belz,  Miss  C,  1872- 

Bergen,  Rev.  G.  S.,  1865- 

Bergcn,  Mrs.,  1869- 

Brink,  Miss  P.  A.  (M.D.),  1M72-1874 
Brodhead,  Rev.  Augustus,  1859-1878 
Brodhead,  Mrs.,  1859-1878 

Butler,  Miss  .1.  M.,  1880-1881 

Calderwood,  Rev.  William, 1855- 
♦Calderwood,  Mrs.  L.  G.,     1855-1859 
Calderwood,    Mrs.     Ernes- 
tine, 1863- 


»Caldwell,  Rev.  Joseph,  1838-1877 

*Caldwell,  ISfrs.  Jane,  18.38-1839 

Caldwell,  Mrs.,  1842- 

«Cani|)bell,  Rev.  James R.,  1836-1862 

*Cami>hell,  Mrs.,  18.36-1873 
•Campbell,  Rev.  David  E.,1850-1857 

»Campbell,  Mrs.,  1850-1857 

Campbell,  Miss  Mary  A.,  1860-1863 

Campbell,  Miss  A.,  1874-1878 

Campbell,  L.  M.,  1875-1878 

Carleton,  Rev.  M.  M.,  1855- 

Carleton,  Marcus  (M.D.I,  1881- 

»Carleton.  Mrs.,  1855-1881 

Carleton,  Mrs.,  1884- 

»Craig,  Mr.  James,  1838-1845 

Craig,  Mrs.,  1838-1846 

Craig,  Miss  M.  A.,  1870- 

*Davis,  Miss  Julia,  1.S35. 

Downs,  Miss  Caroline,  1881- 

Ewing,  Rev.  J.  C.  R.,  1879- 


THE   MISSIONS   IN    INDIA. 


201 


Ewing,  Mrs.,  1879- 
Ferris,  Rev.  G.  H.,  1878- 
Ferris,  ISIrs.,  1878- 
Forman,  Rev.  C.  W.,  1848- 
*Forman,  Mrs.  (Miss  Mar- 
garet Newton),  1855-1878 
Forman,  Mrs.,  1884- 
Forman,  Rev.  Henry,  1884- 
Forman,  C.  W.  iM.  D.)  1883- 
*FreemaD,  Rev.  John  E.,  1839-1857 
*Freeraan,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann, 1839-1849 
•Freeman,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  1851-1857 
*Fullerton,  Rev.  R.  S.,  1850-1865 
Fullerton,  Mrs.,  1850-1866 
Fullerton,  Miss  Mary,  1877- 
Geisinger,  Miss  A.  S.,  1882- 
Given,  Miss  Margaret,  1881- 
Galieen,  Rev.  J.  M.,  1875- 
»GoheeD,  Mrs.,  1875-1878 
Goheen,   Mrs.  (Miss  A.  B. 

M'Ginnis,  1876-),  1879- 

Graham,  Rev.  J.  P.,  1872- 
Graham,     Mrs.     (Miss    M. 

Bunnell),  1872- 

Green,  Willis  (M.  D.),  1842-1843 

Griifiths,  Miss  Irene,  1879- 

Hardie,  Miss  M.  H.,  1874-1876 

Hav,  Rev.  L.  G.,  1850-1857 

Hay,  Mrs.,  1850-1857 

*Henry,  Rev.  Alexander,  1864-1869 

Henry,  Mrs.,  1864-1869 

Herron,  Rev.  David,  1855- 
*E[erron,  Mrs.  (Miss  Mary 

L.  Browning,  1855-),  1857-1863 

*Herron,  Mrs.  1868-1874 

Heyl,  Rev.  Francis,  1867-1882 

Hodge,  Rev.  A.  A.,  1848-1850 

»Hodge,  Mrs.,  1848-1850 

Holeomb,  Rev.  J.  F.,  1870- 

Holcomb,  Mrs.,  1870- 

*Hull,  Rev.  J.  J.,  1872-1881 

Hull,  Mrs.,  1872- 

Hutchinson,  Miss  S.  S.,  1879-1885 

Hutchison,  Miss  S.,  1885- 

Inglis,  Rev.  T.  E.,  1884- 

Inglis,  Mrs.,  1884- 

*Irving,  Rev.  David,  1846-1849 

Irving,  Mrs.,  1846-1849 

Jamieson,  Rev.  J.  M.,  1836-1857 

*Jamieson,  Mrs.  Rebecca,  1836-1845 

«Jamieson,  Mrs.  E.  M'L.,  1848-1856 

*Janvier,  Rev.  Levi,  1842-1864 

*Janvier,  Mrs.,  1842-1854 
*Janvier,  Mrs.  (Mrs.  M.  R. 

Porter,  1849-),  1856-1875 

«Johnson,  Rev.  Albert  O.,  18.5.5-1857 

*John.son,  Mrs.,  1855-1857 

Johnson,  Rev.  Wm.  F.,  1860- 

Johnson,  Mrs.,  1860- 


Kellogg,  Rev.  S.  H.,  1865-1876 

»Kellogg,  Mrs.,  1865-1876 

Kelso,  Rev.  A.  P.,  1869- 

Kelso,  Mrs.,  1869- 

Leavitt,  Rev.  E.  H,,  1855-1857 

Leavitt,  Mrs.,  1856-1857 

•■Loewenthal,  Rev.  Isidore,  1855-1864 
Lowrie,  Rev.  John  C,         1833-1836 
*Lowrie,  Mrs.  Louisa  A.,     1833. 
Lucas,  Rev.  J.  J.,  1870- 

Lucas,  Mrs.    (Miss   E.  M. 

Slv),  1871- 

M'Auley,  Rev.  Wm.  H.,      1840-1851 
M'Auley,  Mrs.,  1840-1851 

M'Comb,  Rev.  Jas.  H.,        1882- 
]\rComb,  Mrs.,  1882- 

«M'Ewen,  Rev.  James,        1836-1838 
«M'Ewen,  Mrs.,  1836-1838 

«M'MuUen,  Rev.  R.  M.,      1857. 
*M'Mullen,  Mrs.,  1857. 

Millar,  Mrs.S.  J.,  1873-1877 

«Morris,  Mr.  Rees,  1838-1845 

Morris,  Mrs.,  1838-1845 

-^Morrison,  Rev.  John  H.,  1838-1881 
"■Morrison,  Mrs.  Anna  M.,  1838. 
«Morrison,  Mrs.  Isabella,     1839-1843 
*Morrison,  Mrs.  Anna,         1846-1860 
Morrison,  Mrs.  E.  A.,  1870- 

Morrison,  Rev.  W.  J.  P.,     1865- 
Morrison,Mrs.  (MissThack- 

well,  1877-),  1879- 

Morrison,  Miss  H.,  1865-1875 

Morrison,  Rev.  Robert,        1883- 
Morrison,  Mrs.  Robt.  (Miss 

Annie  Herron,  1879-),     1884- 
*Munnis,  Rev.  R.  M.,  1847-1861 

Munnis,  Mrs.,  1851-1861 

»Myers,  Rev.  J.  H.,  1865-1869 

Mvers,  Mrs.,  1865-1875 

Nelson,  Miss  J.  A.,  1871-1878 

Newton,  Rev.  John,  1835- 

®Newton,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  1835-1857 
Newton,  Mrs.,  1866- 

»Newton,  John,  Jr.  (M.D.),1860-1880 
Newton,  Mrs.,  1861-1882 

Newton,  Rev.  Chas.  B.,        1867- 
Newton,  Mrs.  (Miss  M.  B. 

Thompson,  1869-),  1871- 

Newton,  Rev.  F.  J.,  1870- 

Newton,  Mrs.,  1870- 

Newton,  Rev.  E.  P.,  1873- 

Newton,  Mrs.,  1874- 

*Orbison,   Rev.  J.  H.,  1850-1869 

•Orbison,  Mrs.  Agnes  C,    1853-1855 
Orbison,  Mrs.,  1859-1869 

*Owen,  Rev.  Joseph,  1840-1870 

*Owen,  Mrs.  Augusta  M.,  1844-1864 
Owen,  Mrs.,  1866-1870 

Patton,  Miss  E.  E„  1880- 


202 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 


Pendleton,  Miss  E.  M., 

1882- 

Perk'v,  Miss  F., 

1879-1882 

r..ll.H.k.  Rev.  George  W., 

1881- 

Pollock,  Mrs., 

1881- 

•Porter,  Rev.  Joseph, 

1 836-1 8.13 

'Porter,  Mrs., 

1836-1842 

Porter,  Mrs.  M.  R., 

1849-1856 

Pratt,  Miss  M., 

1873- 

Rankin,  Rev.  J.  C, 

1840-1848 

'Rankin,  Mrs., 

1840-1848 

*Reed,  Rev.  William, 

183.3-1834 

Ree<i,  Mrs., 

1833-1834 

•Rogers,  Rev.  Wm.  S., 

1836-1843 

«Ros;ers,  Mrs., 

1836-1843 

Ruiiolph,  Rev.  A., 

1846- 

♦Rudolph,  Mrs., 

1846-1849 

»Rudoli)h,  Mrs., 

1851-1885 

Sayre,  Rev.  E.  II., 

186.3-1870 

Savre,  Mrs., 

186.3-1870 

«.Scott,  Rev.  J.  L.,  1839-67 

1877-1880 

«Scott,  Mrs.  C.  M., 

1839-1848 

Scott,  Mrs.  E.  L., 

1860-1867 ; 

1877- 

Scott,  Miss  Anna  E., 

1874- 

Seeley,  Rev.  A.  H., 

1846-1854 

»SeeIey,  Mrs., 

1846-1853 

Seeley,  Rev.  G.  A., 

1870- 

Seelev,  Mrs., 

1879- 

Seelev,  Miss  E.  J., 

1879- 

Seiler,  Rev.  G.  W., 

1870- 

Seiler,  Mrs., 

1881- 

Seward,  Miss  S.  C.  (M.D.) 

, 1873- 

Shaw,  Rev.  H.  W., 

18.50-18.55 

Sliaw,  Mrs., 

1850-1855 

Tedford,  Rev.  L.  B., 

1880- 

Tedford,  Mrs., 

1880- 

Thackwell,  Rev.  Reese, 

1859- 

«Thackwell,  Mrs., 

1859-1873 

Thackwell,   Mrs.  (Miss  S. 

Morrison,  186!»-),  1875- 

Thiede,  Miss  Clara,  1873- 

Tracv,  Rev.  Thomas,  1869- 
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Four  Years  Campaign  in  India.     William  Taylor.     $1.50. 

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lam. 


BY 

Rev.  J.  F.  DRIPPS,  D.  D. 


9^ 


MISSIONS  IN  SIAM. 


China  and  India  are  far  more  widely  known  than  Indo-Cliina, 
which  lies  between  the  two,  in  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of 
Asia.  Siam  occupies  the  central  and  larger  part  of  this  region, 
with  Burmah  on  the  west  and  Cochin  China  on  the  east,  inclu- 
ding also  most  of  the  long,  narrow  Malayan  peninsula  which  juts 
out  from  the  mainland  and  forms  the  sharply-defined  corner  of 
the  continent.  Beginning  at  the  lower  end  of  this  peninsular 
portion,  within  five  degrees  of  the  equator,  the  Siamese  territory 
extends  1350  miles  to  the  north,  and  measures  at  its  widest  point 
some  450  miles  from  east  to  west.  It  contains  190,000  square 
miles,  or  about  as  much  as  New  England  with  the  four  Middle 
States. 

Most  of  the  country  is  a  low-lying  plain,  completely  overflowed 
every  year  by  its  four  great  I'ivers.  Journeying  northward  along 
the  chief  river,  this  plain  is  found  to  continue  for  some  four 
hundred  miles,  when  great  mountains  close  in  upon  the  stream, 
and  the  traveller  encounters  more  than  forty  very  difiicult  rapids 
in  the  midst  of  singularly-impressive  scenery ;  after  which  the 
country  opens  again  into  another  wide  plain,  very  much  like 
the  former  one,  and  known  as  that  of  the  Laos  people.  The 
annual  overflow  of  the  rivers,  with  the  abundant  rainfall, 
enables  the  production  of  such  crops  as  rice  and  sugar  in  great 
abundance.  It  claims  to  be  the  garden-land  of  the  world — the 
land  of  fruit  and  flowers  and  of  never-ending  summer,  with 
grand  old  trees  overshadowing  every  hamlet,  and  plant-life  in 
fullest  variety  bursting  on  every  side  from  the  fertile  soil.  The 
water  swarms  with  fish,  and  the  air  with  insects,  while  all  manner 
of  tropical  birds  and  beasts  exist  in  teeming  multitudes.  Espe- 
cially is  it  the  land  of  elephants. 

One  variety  is  that  which  is  known  to  us  as  the  "  white  "  ele- 
phant, though  the  Siamese  name  for  it  is  "  the  strange-colored," 
and  it  is  really  a  whitish  brown.  Its  form  is  used  on  the 
Siamese  flags  as  the  national  symbol,  and  it  is  held  in  great 
honor,  though  not  actually  worshipped. 

The  climate  of  the  whole  country  is  genial  and  not  unfavorable 
to  health,  though  Europeans  need  to  exchange  it  at  intervals  for 

207 


"208  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

somethiiif!:  more  bracing,  and  the  natives  suffer  considerably 
from  malarial  diseases.  The  thermometer  varies  from  64° 
to  91)°,  averaging  81°.  There  is  a  dry  season  from  November 
to  May,  and  v.  wet  season  for  the  otlier  half  of  the  year. 

The  pojndation  is  but  partly  Siamese,  nearly  one-half  being 
made  up  of  the  tributary  races  and  of  Chinese  immigrants. 
There  are  ])erhaps  five  or  six  millions  in  all,  though  no  exact 
statement  has  ever  been  given  on  this  point.  In  any  cn^e,  how- 
ever, it  is  not  a  quarter  of  the  number  which  the  land  could 
easily  sujiport,  and  the  paucity  is  ascribed  to  such  causes  as  war 
and  disease,  polygamy,  and  the  celibacy  of  the  i)riesthood.  By 
descent  the  people  are  of  the  same  family  with  the  Chinese,  having 
also  several  features  of  likeness  to  the  natives  of  India.  The 
name  by  which  we  call  them  is  supposed  to  come  from  the  Sans- 
crit word  " syain,"  meaning  "the  brown,"  though  they  call 
themselves  by  a  term  signifying  "  the  free."  They  are  a  gentle, 
pa.ssive,  rather  weak  race,  given  to  dissimulation,  and  very  con- 
ceited ;  but  they  are  reverential  to  the  aged,  especially  to  parents, 
are  kind  to  their  children,  liberal  in  alms-giving,  orderly  and 
peaceable.  They  have  quick,  though  not  very  strong,  minds, 
and  are  said  to  be  more  receptive  than  the  Chinese.  These  traits 
are  common  to  all  the  native  races,  though  the  Laos  have  a 
somewhat  stronger  character,  with  many  interesting  traits  pecu- 
liar to  itself.  The  universal  inertness,  due  to  the  enervating 
climate,  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  food  is  so  excessively  cheap, 
and  that  small  exertion  is  required  for  satisfying  the  need  of 
clothing,  a  waist-cloth  having  usually  been  all  that  was  held 
necessary,  with  sometimes  a  light  cape  over  the  shoulders.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  people  have  continued  to  live  in  a  state 
which  is  nominally  that  of  slavery,  though  it  is  of  a  mild  type, 
and  terminable  at  any  time  by  the  payment  of  a  fixed  sum.  It 
is  now  in  process  of  being  entirely  abolished,  by  orderof  the  king. 
Women  are  not  held  in  restriction,  but  go  about  the  streets  at 
will,  and  transact  business  freely.  They  are,  however,  con- 
sidered to  be  of  so  inferior  a  nature  that  they  are  not  educated 
at  all,  whereas  most  of  the  men  and  boys  can  read  and  write. 
Polygamy  is  usual  among  those  who  can  afford  it,  and 
divorce  is  easy  in  all  classes,  though  there  are  many  happy 
marriages. 

The  government  is  an  absolute  monarchy,  entrusting  all 
power  of  every  kind  to  the  king.  The  "second  king  has  no 
share  in  the  administration,  nor  have  the  nobles,  although  when 
the  king  dies  it  is  the  assembly  of  nobles  which  chooses  his  suc- 
cessor, either  from  among  his  sons  or,  if  they  prefer,  from  some 
other  family. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SIAM.  209 

The  history  of  the  country  presents  very  little  of  importance 
or  interest  until  tlie  advent  of  Christian  mission#iries;  since  which 
time  many  features  of  western  civilization  have  been  adopted  by 
order  of  the  present  king  and  of  his  predecessor.  In  fact,  the 
change  made  in  this  direction  has  nothing  to  equal  it,  except  in 
the  case  of  Japan. 

Foreign  commerce,  with  the  encouragement  which  it  is  now 
beginning  to  receive,  is  capable  of  immense  expansion,  so  abundant 
are  the  natural  resources  of  every  kind,  and  so  readily  accessible. 
Not  only  can  the  great  rivers  be  made  available,  but  also  the  net- 
work of  canals  which  interlaces  the  country  between  them.  This 
gives  its  peculiar  character  to  Bangkok,  the  capital,  which  has 
much  the  same  importance  for  Siam  as  London  for  England. 
This  city  of  four  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  situated  not  far 
from  the  sea,  has  the  chief  river  of  the  land  for  its  main  avenue 
and  canals  for  streets.  When  the  native  houses  are  not  built  on 
piles  driven  into  the  banks,  they  are  often  floated  on  platforms  in 
the  river  itself,  whose  sides  are  thus  lined  for  several  miles.  The 
whole  city  and  indeed  all  lower  Siam  can  be  reached  by  boat — 
a  fact  most  important  for  commerce,  as  it  is  also  for  missionary 
work. 

BUDDHISM. 

Considered  as  a  field  for  Christian  missions,  the  most  noticeable 
fact  in  regard  to  Siam  is  that  it  constitutes  the  very  citadel  of 
Buddhism — the  land  Avhich,  more  than  any  other,  is  entirely  and 
only  Buddhist.  In  China,  a  Buddhist  is  also  a  Confucianist  and 
a  Taoist ;  even  his  Buddhism  itself  being  far  less  pure  than  in 
Siam.  This  system  attracts  the  more  attention  because  within 
the  present  generation  it  has  become  distinctly  known  by  us  for 
the  fii*st  time.  The  result  is  that  while  many  still  regard  it  as  a 
mere  tissue  of  palpable  absurdities,  some  of  our  writers  are 
claiming  for  it  a  place  by  the  side  of  Christianity  itself,  and  on  a 
level  with  it. 

The  truth  lies  of  course  between  such  extremes.  Buddhists 
need  Christianity  as  deeply  as  any  men  on  earth  ;  yet  their  own 
system,  with  its  strange  mixture  of  good  and  evil,  has  a  power 
which  is  real  and  formidable.  It  seems  to  have  originated  about 
the  time  of  the  Jewish  prophet  Daniel,  in  an  age  which  also  wit- 
nessed the  teaching  of  Confucius  among  the  Chinese,  and  of 
Pythagoras  among  the  Greeks ;  a  time  which  was  one  of  mental 
quickening  and  enlargement  of  thought  over  all  the  earth.  Its 
founder  himself  was  commonly  known  by  his  family  name 
Gautama,  and  by  the  title  of  "  The  Buddha  ''—that  is,  "  the  En- 
lightened One."     He  has  left  an  impression,  by  his  character  and 


210  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OP 

teachings,  rarely  etjualled  anioiii;  men.  In  Siam,  for  example, 
there  has  been  for  twelve  hundrecl  years  no  other  religion  than 
liis ;  one  whieh  is  venerated  beyond  expression,  and  interwoven 
with  every  act  and  occupation  of  life.  It  has  shown  much  of  in- 
telli'ctual  subtlety,  and  even  of  moral  truth,  mingled  witli  all  its 
absurdities  and  vices;  and  has  proven  itself  singularly  ada[)ted 
to  the  people  with  whom  it  deals.  Its  iuHuence  is  not  only  long- 
continued  and  deep,  l)ut  very  broad.  It  has  greatly  moditied  the 
other  religions  of  India,  though  seven  centuries  ago  it  was  finally 
driven  from  its  place  among  them  ;  while  in  China  the  whole 
population  is  enrolled  among  its  adherents.  One-half  of  man- 
kind bear  its  impressions;  one-third  of  them  are  its  active  sup- 
porter. It  would  be  by  all  means  the  leading  religion  on  earth 
if  mere  numbers  could  make  it  such. 

Yet,  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word,  it  is  no  religion  at  all,  for  it 
teaches  no  (lod  above  and  no  soul  within  us.  Most  of  its  follow- 
ers have  in  their  language  no  word  whatever  for  that  whicii  we 
call  "  God,"  in  the  sense  of  a  divine  Ruler,  Creator,  Preserver  of 
men,  and  the  very  idea  of  such  a  being  does  not  exist  in  Bud- 
dhism. The  Buddha  himself  was  not  a  god,  but  a  man ;  and 
though  he  speaks  of  beings  who  are  called  gods,  yet  they  are  de- 
scribed as  mere  mortals  like  ourselves,  having  no  power  over  us, 
nor  even  any  essential  superiority  to  us.  Each  man  must  work 
out  his  own  destiny  for  himself,  with  no  aid  from  any  higher 
power,  and  in  the  spirit  of  atheistic  rationalism. 

Buddhism,  as  such,  has  therefore  no  such  thing  as  prayer  or 
religious  worship  in  any  form.  The  nearest  approach  to  this  is 
in  the  form  of  inward  meditation,  or  of  paying  outward  honors  to 
the  memory  of  Gautama  by  carrying  flowers  to  his  monument. 
When  Buddhists  wish  to  find  any  outlet  for  the  religious  instinct 
they  must  go  outside  of  Buddhism  to  seek  it.  This  is  actually 
the  case  with  nearly  all  of  them.  They  crave  some  object  of  wor- 
ship, and  since  Gautama  has  given  them  none,  they  addict  them- 
selves to  some  form  of  devil-worship  or  witchcraft  by  way  of  ad- 
dition to  his  system.  They  do  also  say  prayers,  which  are  iu 
some  cases  the  real  cry  of  the  soul  toward  some  one  or  some  thing 
which  can  help  it.  Usually,  however,  the  "  prayer  "  which  they 
repeat  is  not  so  much  in  the  form  of  appeal  to  any  living  hearer 
as  in  that  of  a  charm  or  incantation  ;  the  mere  repetition  of  the 
words  being  supposed  to  have  magical  power  in  itself.  Hence 
originated  the  use  of  "  praying-mills  "  in  Thibet,  each  turn  of  the 
wheel  being  considercfl  as  a  repetition  of  the  prayer  or  magical 
form  which  is  written  upon  it.  In  such  ways  as  this  Buddhism 
has  come  to  receive  an  enormous  mass  of  additions,  many  of 
which  are  directly  opposed  to  its  original  teachings.     A  singular 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SI  AM.  211 

fact  in  this  connection  is  the  out<jjrowth  of  an  extremely  elaborate 
system  of  worship  in  Tliibet,  though  not  in  Siam,  which  resembles 
closely  in  all  its  outward  forms  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
Even  in  Siam  images  of  Buddha  are  enormously  multiplied, 
tending  to  practical  idolatry.  There  are  said  to  be  fourteen 
thousand  in  one  temple  alone. 

The  atheism  of  Gautama's  teaching  is  the  more  complete 
because  of  his  declaring,  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  possible, 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  soul  or  spirit  in  man  himself;  that 
a  man  is  only  a  body  with  certain  faculties  added  to  it,  all  of 
which  scatter  into  nothingness  when  the  body  dissolves.  One 
feature  of  Buddhism,  therefore,  is  its  denial  of  all  spirituality, 
divine  or  human. 

A  second  feature  is  its  assertion,  as  the  positive  facts  upon 
which  it  builds,  of  two  most  remarkable  ideas.  One  of  these  is 
the  doctrine  of  transmigration.  This  belief,  strange  as  it  seems  to 
Christians,  is  held  by  the  greater  part  of  the  human  race  as  the 
only  explanation  for  the  perplexing  inequalities  of  earthly  ex- 
perience. It  teaches  that  the  cause  of  every  joy  or  sorrow  is  to 
be  found  in  some  conduct  of  the  man  himself,  if  not  in  this  life, 
then  in  some  of  his  previous  lives.  Such  a  theory  appeals  to  the 
conviction  that  every  event  must  have  a  cause,  and  to  the  innate 
sense  of  justice  which  demands  that  every  act  shall  have  its  mer- 
ited consequence.  It  also  connects  itself  with  that  "  strange  trick 
of  memory,"  as  it  has  been  called,  Avhich  leads  occasionally  to 
the  sudden  sense  of  our  having  previously  met  the  very  scene, 
having  said  and  done  the  very  things  which  are  now  present  with 
us ;  and  as  they  say  it  cannot  be  disproved,  its  believers  are  slow 
to  give  it  up.  In  fact,  as  the  usual  emblem  of  Christianity  is  the 
cross,  so  that  of  Buddhism  is  the  wheel— chosen  as  such  from  its 
suggestion  of  endless  rotation. 

Buddhism,  however,  which  denies  the  existence  of  the  soul,  is 
obliged  to  teach  transmigration  in  a  very  strange  form.  Ac- 
cording to  this,  although  you  go  to  nothingness  when  you  die, 
yet  a  new  person  is  sure  to  be  produced  at  that  moment,  who  is 
considered  to  be  practically  the  same  as  yourself,  because  he 
begins  existence  with  all  your  merits  and  demerits  exactly,  and 
it  is  to  your  thirst  for  life  that  he  owes  his  being.  Yet,  as  it  is 
acknowledged  that  you  are  not  conscious  of  producing  him  and 
he  is  not  conscious  of  any  relation  with  you,  it  is  hard  to  see  how 
men  can  accept  in  such  a  form  this  doctrine  of  "  Karma."  Prac- 
tically, its  believers  are  apt  to  forget  their  denial  of  the  soul,  and 
speak  as  if  it  does  exist  and  goes  at  death  into  a  new  body. 
This  new  birth,  moreover,  may  be  not  into  the  form  of  a  man,  but 
into  that  of  a  beast  of  the  earth,  a  devil  in  some  hell  or  an  angel 


212  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

in  some  heaven.  Buddhism  not  only  teaches  the  existence  of 
hells  and  heavens,  but  fixes  their  exact  size  and  position  ;  so  that 
one  glance  throuj^li  the  telescope,  or  any  ac(|uaintance  with 
astronomy,  is  enough  to  prove  the  falsity  of  its  declarations  on 
that  point.  It  is  further  taught  that  each  of  these  future  lives 
must  come  to  an  end,  for  all  tilings  above  and  below  are  contin- 
nally  changing  places  with  each  other,  as  they  ever  have  done 
and  ever  will  do.  There  is  therefore  no  real  satisfaction  even  in 
the  prospect  of  a  heavenly  life,  since  it  must  in  time  change  and 
probably  for  the  worse. 

In  close  connection,  then,  with  this  fundamental  idea  of  Bud- 
dhism, namely  transmigration,  is  the  other  idea  that  all  life, 
present  or  future,  is  essentially  so  transitory,  disappointing  and 
miserable,  that  the  greatest  of  blessings  wonld  be  the  power  to 
cease  from  the  weary  round  entirely  and  forever.  Practically 
its  votaries  have  before  their  minds  a  life  in  some  delightful 
heaven,  secured  against  turning  into  any  following  evil  by  jiass- 
ing  instead  into  calm,  unending  slumber.  This  heavenly  con- 
dition is  marked  by  the  perception  of  life's  illusiveness,  with 
freedom  from  all  resulting  lusts  and  passions ;  and  this  ensures 
that  when  the  life  you  are  then  living  shall  close,  no  new  being 
will  be  formed  in  your  j^lace,  because  your  thiret  for  living  is  at 
last  extinguished.  While  it  is  true,  then,  that  this  condition  of 
heavenly  calm  or  Nirvana  is  represented  as  eminently  attractive, 
yet  its  distinguishing  benefit  lies  in  the  fact  that  when  it  ends, 
that  which  follows  is  not  a  new  birth,  but  an  eternal  freedom 
from  all  life.  This  is  in  its  essence  a  doctrine  of  despair,  even 
though  the  annihilation  of  life  is  called  by  the  softer  name  of 
endless  slumber,  and  attention  is  mainly  fixed  on  the  joys  of 
Nirvana,  which  precede  that  slumber. 

The  remaining  or  third  chief  feature  of  Buddhism  is  its  de- 
scription of  the  "  Noble  Path  " — the  way  by  which  a  man  is  to 
reach  this  desired  goal.  Having  (1)  denied  the  existence  of  God 
and  the  soul,  and  (2)  asserted  the  existence  of  transmigration 
and  of  an  essential  misery  in  all  life,  from  which  Nirvana  is  the 
only  deliverance,  it  proceeds  (3)  to  tell  how  Nirvana  may  be 
reached.  It  is  by  means  of  persevering  meditation  upon  the  hol- 
lowness  of  life,  together  with  the  jiractice  of  control  over  self  and 
beneficence  to  others.  Many  of  the  rules  given  for  this  end  have 
in  them  a  moral  truth  and  beauty  which  is  remarkable.  The  op- 
position made  to  caste  and  to  extending  religion  by  force  of  arms, 
the  freedom  given  to  woman,  and  the  mildness  of  manners  cher- 
ished among  all,  are  most  commendable.  Much  of  its  hold  upon 
men  undoubtedly  comes  from  the  fact  that  its  moral  standard  is 
endorsed  to  so  great  an  extent  by  every  man's  conscience,  and 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   SIAM.  213 

from  its  spirit  of  self-help  and  by  working  out  merit  by  one's  own 
acts.  Ciautania,  the  Buddha,  must  have  been  far  above  the 
average  in  brain  and  heart,  and  not  the  least  so  in  his  efforts  to 
learn  from  others  before  beginning  himself  to  teach.  But  his 
followers  of  to-day  are  by  no  means  teachable  in  the  presence  of 
Christianity,  with  its  fullness  of  divine  truth ;  and  whenever  par- 
tial truth  resists  fuller  truth  it  becomes  wrong  and  hurtful.  If 
Buddhism  held  faithfully  the  truth  it  knew,  ever  ready  to  learn 
further  lessons  of  good,  it  could  be  viewed  with  gladness  as  a 
system  which  had  prevented  many  a  Avorse  one,  while  not 
hindering  aught  better  still ;  but  this  latter  assertion  cannot  be 
made. 

Here  is  a  system  whose  only  reply  to  inquiries  concerning 
religion  or  spirituality  is  an  unbroken  silence :  one  which  leaves 
men  to  go  elsewhere  in  search  of  information  if  they  will, 
and  to  believe  anything  or  nothing,  just  as  they  please,  on  this 
subject.  Of  course,  the  practical  inference  is,  that  religion  is 
impossible,  and  that  the  cravings  which  we  call  spiritual  cannot 
expect  to  be  satisfied,  but  only  to  be  dulled  and  deadened  and 
finally  extinguished.  Disobedience  to  its  laws  is  not  called 
"sin,"  for  where  no  God  is  recognized  no  sin  is  confessed,  and  it 
is  merely  so  much  loss  to  one's  self,  just  as  when  any  other  law 
of  nature  is  broken.  If  you  choose  to  take  the  loss  you  are 
always  at  liberty  to  break  the  law.  Morality  becomes  a 
mere  affair  of  profit  and  loss;  so  that  we  even  read  of  a  Buddhist 
account  book,  with  its  debtor  and  creditor  columns,  by  which  the 
yearly  balance  of  merits  or  demerits  could  readily  be  ascer- 
tained. As  there  is  no  love  to  any  God  in  all  this,  neither  is 
there  any  beneficence  toward  men  which  is  other  than  negative 
and  selfish.  The  self-annihilation  which  is  emphasized  is  not 
sought  from  any  love  for  others,  but  simply  as  a  means  of 
finally  escaping  from  misery  by  escaping  from  existence,  after 
tasting  whatever  sensual  enjoyment  may  come  within  reach  on 
the  way. 

We  must  beware,  then,  of  putting  Christian  meaning  into 
Buddhist  words,  or  of  supposing  that  such  a  description  of 
Buddhism  as  Arnold's  "Light  of  Asia"  could  have  been  written 
by  any  man  destitute  of  Christian  ideas.  Moreover,  if  there  is 
fault  and  defect  even  in  the  purest  possible  form  of  the  system, 
how  much  more  is  there  in  the  actual  teachings  of  Buddhist 
books  after  twenty-four  hundred  years  of  corruption. 

The  practical  conduct  of  its  followers  is  below  even  their  own 
faulty  standard ;  they  live  as  the  heathen  did  whom  Paul 
describes  in  the  first  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
For,  after  all,  the  great  distinction  between  all  other  religions 


214  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

and  Cliristiauity  is  not  merely  that  they  present  lower  standards 
than  it,  but  that  they  do  not  present  at  all  that  whieh  is  its 
one  chief  offer,  viz.,  grace  and  strenf;th  whereby  men  l)ect)me 
able  to  rise  toward  the  standard,  liuddhism  makes  no  such 
offer  a."^  this,  and  hsis  no  conce})tion  of  siieli  a  thinj;.  It  fixes 
the  mind  upon  the  evils  and  miseries  of  life,  which  it  is  by  its 
own  power  to  shun,  and  not  upon  the  j)ositive  holine.'^s  and  bless- 
edness of  a  divine  Fatlier  and  Saviour,  whose  grace  can  lift  the 
soul  toward  the  glory  which  it  sees  in  Him. 

Christians  freely  concede  all  that  can  truly  be  claimed  for  the 
Buddhist  standard ;  for  the  higher  it  is,  the  more  does  it  show 
natural  conscience  endorsing  the  re(|uirements  of  God  as  no  more 
than  right  and  just.  The  defects  of  liuddhisni,  both  in  theory  and 
practice,  are  evident  enough.  In  all  these  twenty-four  hundred 
years,  and  among  the^e  niyriads  of  men,  it  has  j)roduced  no 
single  nation  comparable  with  even  the  lowest  of  Christian 
states.  In  fact,  the  very  existence  of  its  priesthood,  as  seen  in 
Siara,  is  enough  to  dwarf  the  prosperity  of  any  people.  The 
name  of  "priest"  is,  indeed,  hardly  accurate  in  this  case,  for  the 
condition  intended  is  rather  that  of  a  monk — of  one  who  gives 
himself  to  carry  into  practice  Gautama's  conception  of  the  best 
life.  Each  works  out  merit  for  himself  by  a  life  of  medita- 
tion, without  undertaking  for  others  any  work  which  is  really 
"  priestly."  Forbidden  to  engage  in  useful  work,  and  enjoined 
to  live  solely  on  alms,  these  men  drain  the  community  of 
$25,000,000  each  year  for  their  bodily  support  alone,  beside 
all  which  they  get  for  their  temples,  etc.  This  is  at  a  rate 
which  would  amount,  if  Siam  were  as  large  as  our  own  nation, 
to  the  enormous  sum  of  $200,000,000  yearly  for  the  personal 
support  of  ])riests.  Ignorant  as  they  usually  are,  yet  the  whole 
education  of  the  people  is  in  their  hands ;  and  every  man  in 
the  nation  spends,  at  least,  a  part  of  his  life  in  the  priesthood, 
while  every  woman  and  child  is  glad  to  gain  merit  by  feeding 
them.  They  not  only  control  the  nation,  but  may  almost 
be  said  to  include  it,  bodily ;  and  it  may  be  imagined  how 
firmly  they  hold  it  to  Buddhism.  When  it  is  possible  for  a 
man  to  say,  as  one  of  these  priests  did,  "  I  do  not  Avorship  the 
gods,  but  they  worship  me,"  and  to  really  believe  that  by  rigid 
perseverance  in  his  system  he  can  outrank  any  being  in  exist- 
ence, it  is  evident  that  such  pride  will  not  readily  confess  itself 
wholly  Avrong,  and  accept  any  new  religion.  Nor  must  it  be 
forgotten  that  the  bodily  su.stenance  of  these  masses  of  monks 
is  felt  to  depend  upon  the  continuance  of  Buddliism. 

How  can  a  system   be    conceived    more   completely  guarded 
against  the  entrance  of  Christianity,  and,  at  the  same  time,  more 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SIAM.  215 

utterly  in  need  of  the  gospel  ?  It  might  readily  be  expected  that 
missionary  work  would  make  slow  progress  under  such  circum- 
stances. We  can  the  better  appreciate,  then,  that  advance  which 
has  actually  been  made. 

ROMAN   CATHOLIC   MISSIONS. 

The  Church  of  Rome  established  its  missions  in  Siam  as  early 
as  1662.  The  grand  embassy  from  Louis  X[V.,a  few  years  later, 
was  accom])anied  by  a  considerable  number  of  priests,  and  from 
that  time  to  the  present  they  have  held  their  ground,  through 
periods  of  severe  persecution  or  of  contemptuous  toleration,  varied 
only  occasionally  by  intervals  of  royal  favor.  They  found  the  work 
to  be  one  of  special  difficulty,  however,  and  their  efforts  have  pro- 
duced far  less  result  than  in  most  other  missions  conducted  by 
them.  Yet  the  size  of  their  roll  is  still  greater  than  that  of  the 
Protestant  missions,  and  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  remember  that 
the  difference  in  quality  is  so  radical  and  complete  that  such  a 
comparison  of  quantities  is  utterly  misleading.  This  declaration 
would  not  be  made  if  the  Roman  Church  held  the  same  standard 
in  Siam  which  it  does  in  England  or  America,  instead  of  sinking, 
as  it  actually  has  done,  almost  to  the  level  of  heathenism  itself 
This  can  be  tested  by  observing  its  attitude  towards  the  "  Chris- 
tians," the  Siamese  and  the  Chinese. 

Tliere  is  still  quite  a  considerable  body  of  mixed  descendants 
from  the  early  Portuguese  settlers  whom  the  Roman  priests  have 
succeeded  in  keeping  from  a])0statizing  to  Buddhism :  but  their 
preservation  as  a  distinct  body  bearing  the  name  of  "  Christian  " 
has  been  a  very  questionable  benefit.  Dr.  Gutzlaff,  for  exami)le, 
found  that  the  servility  and  moral  degradation  of  these  "  Chris- 
tians "  had  inspired  the  Siamese  with  such  contempt,  not  only  for 
the  religion,  but  for  the  civilization  and  power  of  all  Europeans, 
that  they  only  began  to  change  their  minds  upon  finding  that 
British  arms  had  actually  defeated  and  conquered  Burmah,  which 
is  on  the  very  border  of  Siam  itself  What  Avonder  is  it  that  to 
such  a  body  as  this  there  have  been  added  scarcely  any  converts 
whatever  from  among  adult  Siamese,  and  that  the  rolls  of  the 
Roman  Church  are  enlarged  mainly  by  claiming  the  names  of 
those  heathen  infiints  who  are  surreptitiously  baptized,  when  at  the 
point  of  death,  by  the  priests  or  their  assistants,  under  the  guise 
of  administering  medicine  ? 

From  the  Chinese  traders  Dr.  House  informs  us  that  the  Roman 
priests  did  receive  quite  an  accession,  by  offering  as  a  considera- 
tion the  protection  of  the  French  government,  with  consequent 
immunity  from  the  many  exactions  and  annoyances  of  the  Siamese 


Iil6  HISTORICAL    SKKTIH    OF 

officials.  It  is  very  evident  that  a  mil  of  names  made  up  on  sueh 
principles  cannot  fairly  be  compared  Avith  that  of  Protestant 
churches.  Whatever  could  be  accomplished  by  Jesuit  influence 
has  always  been  tried,  to  induce  the  native  government  to  expel 
from  the  country  every  gospel  missionary.  No  retaliation  ff)r 
these  attacks  has  been  attempted,  hut  it  has  been  clearly  mani- 
fested that  the  need  of  Siam  for  Protestant  missions  is  not  a 
jiartide  the  less,  but  rather  the  greater,  because  of  the  mission 
work  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS. 

"  It  is  an  interesting  foct,"  says  Dr.  House,  "  that  the  very  first 
effort  made  by  any  of  the  Protestant  faith  for  the  spiritual  good 
of  the  people  of  Siam  was  by  a  woman.  This  was  Ann  Hazeltine 
Judson,  of  sainted  memory,  who  had  become  interested  in  some 
Siamese  living  at  Rangoon,  where  she  tlien  resided.  In  a  letter 
to  a  friend  in  the  I'nited  States,  dated  April  30,  1818,  she  writes, 
'Accomj)anying  is  a  catechism  in  Siamese,  which  I  have  just  copied 
for  you.  I  have  atten<led  to  the  Siamese  language  for  about  a 
year  and  a  half,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  my  teacher,  have 
translated  the  Burinan  catechism  (just  prepared  by  Dr.  Judson), 
a  tract  containing  an  abstract  of  Christianity,  and  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew,  into  that  language.'  The  catechism  was  printed  by  the 
English  Ba])tist  mission  press  at  Serampore  in  1819,  being  the  first 
Christian  book  ever  j)rinted  in  Siamese." 

For  more  than  twenty  years  after  this  time,  however,  Siam  was 
regarded  by  mission  workers  chiefly  as  a  point  of  approach  to 
China,  where  nearly  one-third  of  the  human  race  were  living  in 
total  ignorance  of  Christianity.  It  was  in  this  way  that  Bangkok 
was  visited  in  1828  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Carl  Gutzlaff,  whose 
works  upon  China  are  still  of  great  value.  He  was  then  connected 
with  the  Nethorland  ^Missionary  Society,  and  was  accompanied  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Tondin,  of  the  London  Society's  mission  at  Singapore. 
They  imnie<liutely  gave  their  services  as  physicians  to  crowds  of 
])atients,  and  distributed  twenty-five  boxes  of  books  and  tracts  in 
Chinese  within  two  months.  They  connected  with  their  Chinese 
work  the  study  of  Siamese,  even  attempting  to  translate  the  Scrii)- 
tures  into  that  language.  Appeals  were  also  sent  by  them  to  the 
American  churches  and  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  and  to  Dr.  Judson  in  Burniah,  urging  that 
missionaries  be  sent  to  Siam.  Mr.  Tondin  was  compelled  by 
severe  illness  to  return  to  Singapore  in  the  following  year.  Late 
in  1829  Dr.  Gutzlaff,  having  prepared  a  tract  in  Siamese  and 
translated  one  of  the  Gospels,  also  visited  Singapore  to  have  them 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   SIAM.  217 

printed.  While  tliere  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maria  Newell,  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society,  the  first  woman  to  undertake  ])er- 
sonal  work  for  Christ  in  Siam  itself,  whither  she  went  a  few  months 
after  their  marriage.  She  lived,  however,  little  more  than  a  year 
after  that  time,  and  her  babe  soon  followed  her.  Her  husband, 
being  extremely  ill,  was  urged  to  sail  northward  to  China  itself, 
which,  in  spite  of  great  peril,  he  succeeded  in  doing,  and  began, 
on  his  recovery,  a  singularly  adventurous  pioneer  work  in  that 
land.  He  was  but  twenty-five  years  of  age  when  he  reached  Siam, 
and  put  forth  all  the  energy  of  his  nature  into  the  work  he  found 
there.  The  death  of  his  devoted  wife  and  his  own  enforced 
dejiarture  to  China  Avere  therefore  no  ordinary  loss  for  Siam.  A 
few  days  after  he  had  sailed,  in  June,  1831,  Rev.  David  Abeel 
arrived,  having  been  sent  by  the  American  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners for  Foreign  Missions  in  answer  to  the  appeal  of  Gutzlaff 
and  Tondin.  Mr.  Tomlin  himself  came  with  him,  but  could  only 
remain  for  six  months,  when  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  college  at  Malacca.  After  repeated  experiments,  Dr. 
Abeel  also  was  compelled  to  give  up  work  in  Siam,  on  account  of 
protracted  ill-health,  in  November,  1832.  The  American  Board 
thereupon  sent  out  Rev.  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Robinson,  who  ar- 
rived in  July,  1834,  and  D.  B.  Bradley,  M.D.,  in  July,  1835. 
"  Like  all  their  predecessors,  these  missionaries  had  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  healing  art  and  a  stock  of  medicines  for  free  distribu- 
tion ;  so  that  the  people  of  Siam  naturally  give  to  every  Protest- 
ant missionary  the  title  of '  man,'  or  '  doctor  of  medicine.'  "  Sev- 
eral of  them  have  been  fully-trained  physicians,  among  whom  was 
Dr.  Bradley.  "  His  work  as  medical  missionary,  writer  and 
translator  into  Siamese  of  Christian  books,  printer  and  preacher, 
continued  with  a  zeal  and  hope  which  knew  neither  weariness 
nor  discouragement  until  his  lamented  death,  after  thirty-eight 
years  of  toil,  in  June,  1873."  Two  of  his  daughters,  Mrs. 
McGilvary  and  Mrs.  Cheek,  still  continue  on  the  field  as  the 
Avives  of  Presbyterian  missionaries.  Upon  the  opening  of  China 
to  missionary  work,  the  American  Board  transferred  its  efforts  to 
that  country,  and  gave  its  field  in  Siam  to  the  "American 
Missionary  Society,"  by  which  the  work  was  maintained  for 
some  years  longer,  and  then  discontinued. 

An  American  Baptist  mission  to  the  Chinese  in  Siam  has  been 
carried  on  since  1835.  There  was  for  many  years  another 
department  of  the  mission,  beginning  still  earlier,  in  1833,  and 
addressing  itself  to  the  Siamese  themselves.  This  has  now  for 
several  years  been  discontinued,  and  the  entire  strength  of  the 
Baptist  mission  is  concentrated  upon  its  work  for  the  Chinese, 
which  proved  to  be  much  the  more  successful  of  the  two.     These 


218  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Chinese,  it  will  bu  understood,  keep  themselves  as  distinct  from 
the  natives  as  they  do  in  our  own  land.  They  are  mueh  the 
more  energetic  race,  and  have  rapidly  accumulated  for  them- 
selves the  positions  of  profitable  enterprise  in  the  laud.  If  the 
Siamese  are  permanently  to  hold  their  own,  they  greatly  need 
the  stimulating  infiuence  of  Christian  religion  and  civilization. 
They  have  traits  of  character,  moreover,  which  are  peculiarly 
favorable  to  such  development,  and  we  have  cause,  not  only  for 
the  sen.se  of  responsibility  but  for  hopeful  effort,  in  the  fact  that 
the  entire  work  of  (  hristianizing  the  natives  of  Siam  is  left  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  Curs  is  the  only  Bianiese  mission 
which  has  remained  in  permanent  operation. 

PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

The  first  visit  made  to  Siam  by  any  representative  of  our  own 
Church  was  for  the  same  purpose  which  had  already  brought 
other  missionaries  there — namely,  to  find  some  door  of  access  to 
the  Chinese.  This  was  in  November,  18.SM,  when  liev.  R.  W.  Orr 
spent  a  month  in  Bangkok,  and  thereupon  recommended  our 
Board  of  Foreign  JSIissions  to  take  this  country  as  a  field  of 
effort,  not  only  for  the  Chinese,  but  for  the  Siamese  themselves. 
In  accordance  with  this  recommendation,  the  Rev.  W.  P.  Buell 
was  sent  to  Bangkok,  where  he  arrived  in  1840.  Afk^r  remaining 
until  1844  and  doing  good  foundation  work,  he  was  compelled  to 
leave  the  field  to  bring  home  INIrs.  Buell,  who  had  been  stricken 
with  paralysis.  Arrangements  were  made  to  fill  his  place  as 
soon  as  possible,  but  from  various  reasons  it  was  not  until  1847 
that  the  ne.xt  missionaries  actually  reached  Siam.  From  that 
time  until  the  present,  continuous  work  has  been  maintained  ; 
and  as  the  Chinese  could  then  be  reached  in  their  own  land,  our 
mission  here  addressed  itself  directly  to  the  native  Siamese. 

The  Rev.  Stephen  Mattoon  and  wife,  with  Rev.  S.  R.  House, 
M.D.,  were  the  missionaries  who  began  work  in  that  year.  Their 
foothold  seemed,  however,  very  precarious  for  several  yeai-s  after- 
ward, on  account  of  the  active,  though  secret,  opposition  of  the 
king.  Without  openly  using  force,  he  so  exerted  his  despotic 
influence  uj)on  the  slavish  people  that  none  of  them  could  be 
induced  to  rent  or  sell  any  house  to  the  missionaries,  and  a  most 
effectual  obstacle  to  their  work  was  thus  presented.  ( )ther  diffi- 
culties of  the  same  general  nature  were  put  in  their  way,  and 
it  seemed  (juite  certain  that  they  would  actually  be  prevented 
from  establishing  themselves  in  the  country. 

About  the  same  time  Sir  James  Brooks,  who  had  arrived  to 
open  negotiations  with  the  king  on  behalf  of  the  British  govern- 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SIAM.  219 

ment,  found  himself  treated  in  a  manner  which  he  considered  so 
insulting  that  he  indignantly  took  t-hip  again  with  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  assistance  in  the  efibrt  to  open  the  country 
by  main  force.  Just  at  the  moment  when  all  these  complications 
were  at  their  height,  the  death  of  the  king  was  announced 
(April  3,  1851).  This  event  brought  about  a  complete  change 
in  the  whole  situation,  and  in  all  the  succeeding  history  of  the 
country  ;  a  change  which  is  directly  traceable  to  the  influence  of 
Protestant  missions.  The  man  whom  the  assembly  of  nobles 
elected  to  fill  the  throne,  and  who  reigned  from  1851  until. the 
end  of  1868,  proved  to  be  very  liberal  in  all  his  policy.  When 
the  next  embassy  from  the  British  government  i-eached  Siam, 
under  Sir  John  Bowring,  it  was  to  find  on  the  throne  no  longer 
an  ignorant,  unnuinageable  barbarian,  but  a  man  who  could 
appreciate  civilization,  and  who  claimed  to  be  himself  quite  a 
scholar  even  by  European  standards.  This  came  from  the  fact 
that  while  still  in  private  life  he  was  occupied  much  of  his  time, 
under  the  instruction  of  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board, 
in  the  study  of  language  and  of  modern  science. 

For  all  the  yeai's  which  have  now  intervened  since  his  acces- 
sion, Protestant  missionaries  have  been  accorded  very  noticeable 
influence  with  the  government.  In  estimating  the  result  of  their 
work,  this  fact  must  be  given  much  prominence.  An  official  doc- 
ument, under  the  royal  sanction,  makes  the  following  statement : 
"Many  years  ago  the  American  missionaries  came  here.  They 
came  before  any  other  Europeans,  and  they  taught  the  Siamese  to 
speak  and  read  the  English  language.  The  American  missionaries 
have  always  been  just  and  upright  men.  They  have  never  meddled 
in  the  affairs  of  government,  nor  created  any  difficulty  with  the 
Siamese.  They  have  lived  with  the  Siamese  just  as  if  they  be- 
longed to  the  nation.  The  government  of  Siam  has  great  love  and 
respect  for  them  and  has  no  fear  whatever  concerning  them. 
When  there  has  been  a  difficulty  of  any  kind,  the  missionaries 
have  many  times  rendered  valuable  assistance.  For  this  reason 
the  Siamese  have  loved  and  respected  them  for  a  long  time.  The 
Americans  have  also  taught  the  Siamese  many  things." 

Reference  is  also  frequently  made  to  the  statement  of  a  Regent 
that  "  Siam  was  not  opened  by  British  gunpowder  like  China,  but 
by  the  influence  of  missionaries."  No  estimate  of  mission  work 
would  be  comjDlete,  therefore,  which  did  not  include  its  connection 
with  these  great  changes  in  the  whole  attitude  and  condition  of 
the  nation,  which  have  already  astonished  the  world,  and  which 
are  of  still  ampler  promise  for  the  future.  Though  such  results 
may  be  considered  as  indirect  and  preparatory,  they  are  to  be 
thankfully  acknowledged  before  God,  who  has  chosen  to  attest 


220  IILSTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

His  l)I&^-*iiig  ami   help  in  this  form,   while  not  .omitting  further 
token-s  of  a  more  innnediately  spiritual  nature. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  view  the  course  of  our  work  will  be  to 
look  at  it  in  connection  with  the  places  which  have  successively 
been  taken  up  ils  centres  of  etibrt,  amon<r  both  Siamese  anil  Laos. 


BANGKOK. 

The  fii-st  convert  in  connection  with  tlie  mission  was  tiie 
Clvinese  teacher  Qvia-Kieng,  who  was  baptized  in  1844,  and  died 
in  the  faith  in  18o9.  It  is  interesting  to  learn  that  three  of  his 
children  became  Christians  after  his  death,  one  of  them  a  candi- 
date for  the  ministry.  This  is  by  no  means  the  only  instance  in 
the  history  of  the  mission  in  which  the  baptized  children,  either  of 
foreign  or  of  native  laborers,  have  taken  up  the  work  of  their 
fathers. 

A  good  record  is  also  given  of  Nai  Chune,  the  fii*st  native  Siam- 
ese convert.  "  Though  frequently  ottered  positions  of  honor, 
lucrative  offices  and  emi)loyment  by  the  government,  he  refuses  all 
and  chooses  to  support  himself  by  the  practice  of  medicine,  that 
thus  he  may  the  more  readily  carry  the  gospel  message." 

It  was  not  until  18o9,  however,  that  this  first  convert  was 
made.  Twelve  long  years  had  elapsed  before  the  missionaries  of 
1847  were  given  the  joy  of  gathering  any  fii-st-fruits  of  their 
labors.  Such  a  period  of  delay  has  not  been  unknown  in  the 
history  of  several  other  mission  fields,  which  became  thereafter 
eminently  successful ;  and  in  view  of  all  the  obstacles  in  the  cjise 
now  before  us,  it  can  hardly  be  thought  surprising.  Instead  of 
causing  His  servants  to  reaj)  immediately,  by  bringing  one  part  of 
the  field  into  full  maturity,  the  Master  chose,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
use  them  for  doing  long-continued  preparatory  work,  which  will 
in  the  end  attest  His  wisdom  as  the  Lord  of  the  harvest.  Tokens 
have  moreover  come  to  light  within  recent  years  which  show  that 
there  really  was  success,  even  of  a  directly  s])iritual  nature,  where 
there  were  no  signs  visible  to  the  workers  through  the  years  of 
patient  perseverance.  For  example,  several  years  after  Dr.  Brad- 
ley's death  a  marked  instance  of  conversion  was  found,  which 
was  traceable  directly  to  his  fiiithful  efibrts  in  the  printing  and 
distribution  of  Christian  truth.  In  a  letter  from  the  Laos 
mission  in  May,  1878,  we  are  told  of  a  visit  made  some  months 
earlier,  in  June,  1877,  by  a  venerable  stranger,  evidently  a  man 
of  high  rank,  who  came  to  ;usk  medicine  for  his  deafness,  and 
referred  to  the  miraculous  cure  which  Christ  had  wrought  upon 
a  deaf  man.  He  proved  to  be  the  highest  officer  of  the  court  in 
the  province  of  Lakawn,  and  at  the  time  of  this  visit  was  seventy- 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   SI  AM.  221 

three  years  of  a!:^e.  Twenty  years  before,  he  hud  visited  Banglcok 
and  received  religious  books  from  Dr.  Bradley.  They  were 
printed  in  the  Siamese  character,  which  is  so  difierent  from  that 
used  by  the  Laos,  though  the  languages  themselves  are  much  the 
same,  that  he  could  not  at  the  time  read  them,  but  learned  the 
Siamese  character  for  the  purpose  of  so  doing.  He  gave  inward 
assent  to  the  truth  contained  in  them  so  far  as  he  could  under- 
stand it,  but  had  never  found  any  missionary  to  give  him  further 
instruction  in  his  far-oft'home.  He  was  now  brought,  for  further 
light,  to  a  place  where  meantime  a  Christian  mission  had  been 
established  for  his  nation.  The  j)ath  was  opened  by  Divine  Provi- 
dence in  his  case,  as  in  that  of  so  many  others  in  every  age  and 
land,  through  God's  overruling  of  human  persecution.  His 
firmness  of  principle  brought  upon  him  such  troul)le  in  his  own 
province  that  he  had  come  to  Chieng-mai,  where  he  immediately 
sought  out  the  missionaries.  From  that  time  he  made  this  matter 
his  one  study,  obtaining  Buddhist  books  from  the  temple,  and 
comparing  them  with  Christian  books,  in  the  full  exercise  of  that 
keen,  practical  sagacity  for  which  he  was  noted.  He  intended 
to  present  himself  at  the  communion-table  in  April,  but  was 
obliged  to  remain  at  home  under  a  severe  attack  of  illness.  At 
the  next  comnuuiion,  however,  he  made  his  appearance,  declaring 
his  conviction  that  the  healing  of  his  disease  had  been  in  answer 
to  prayer.  The  missionary  who  moderated  the  session  at  his 
examination  had  seldom  heard  a  more  satisfactory  and  intelligent 
confession  of  faith  in  Christ  than  was  given  by  him.  As  soon  as 
he  was  known  to  be  a  Christian  he  w  as  ordered  back  to  his  native 
city  far  away.  His  death  was  not  unlikely  to  be  the  result ;  but 
he  said  to  his  Christian  friends,  "  If  they  want  to  kill  me  because 
I  worship  Christ,  and  not  demons,  I  will  let  them  pierce  me." 
His  life  was  spared  in  the  end,  but  office,  wealth  and  social  posi- 
tion were  taken,  and  he  was  ignored  by  all  his  friends.  Later 
still  we  hear  of  him  as  starting  to  w^alk  all  the  way  to  Chieng-mai, 
being  too  impoverished  to  command  any  mode  of  conveyance 
more  suitable  for  his  old  age.  His  object  in  coming  was  to  hear 
still  further  about  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  the  result  of  this  second 
visit  was  the  return  with  him  of  two  native  members  from  the 
Chieng-mai  church  to  begin  work  in  his  native  city.  Out  of  this 
there  arose  one  of  our  most  promising  stations ;  and  the  whole 
affliir  is  traceable  directly  to  the  patient  work  of  that  early 
missionary,  who  never  in  this  life  came  to  know  anything  of  it. 

Another  instance  of  the  same  kind  is  mentioned  in  a  letter  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Dunlap  from  Petchaburi  in  February,  1879.   He  speaks 
of  visiting  a  very  old  Christian,  who  was  evidently  near  his  end, 
10 


222  iii.sTOuiCAL  SKirrcn  of 

and  lilt  ri'  liarniiij:  that  he  had  received  portitms  of  the  Bible 
from  I)r.  l>ra(ll(  y  many  years  l)el"ore,  which  lie  had  hidden  for 
fear  of  the  authorities,  and  studied  in  secret,  until  he  accej)ted 
Christ  as  there  revealed,  and  j)Ut  away  his  idols.  Since  that  time 
his  life  had  Ijcen  that  of  a  devoted  C'hristian,  active  in  work  for 
other  souls.  Near  him  in  his  sicknci^s  lay  his  Bible  and  other 
books,  among  them  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  which  he  said  he 
luul  read  and  re-read  with  joy.  "  The  aged  disciple,"  writes  Mr. 
Dunlap,  "  said  to  the  native  ])reacher  who   accompanied   me,  '  I 

f)ray  every  day,  but  often  wonder  if  I  pray  aright ;  if  you  will 
isten  I  will  tell  you,  that  you  may  teach  me.'  I  listened  also, 
and  to  such  a  prayer!  It  was  full  of  humility,  faith  and  thanks- 
giving, lie  had  })Iainly  been  taught  by  the  best  and  highest  of 
teachers." 

No  doubt  these  cases  are  but  specimens  of  a  class  in  which 
spiritual  results  were  really  gained  during  the  very  years  which 
seemed  so  barren  of  immediate  fruit.  Since  the  time  when  the 
first  open  confession  was  made  by  a  native  convert,  other  mem- 
bers have  been  steadily  gathered  into  the  churches,  and  the 
work,  though  it  may  be  considered  as  still  very  largely  in  its  pre- 
paratory stage,  has  many  a  token  of  encouraging  succ&js.  All 
the  usual  forms  of  Christian  effort  are  employed  with  diligence 
and  effectiveness. 

Preaching,  both  in  chapels  and  by  the  wayside,  has  been  given 
from  the  very  beginning  that  prominence  which  justly  belongs  to 
it  as  the  ordinance  of  Christ  for  the  saving  of  souls.  What- 
ever else  is  done,  this  is  also  done.  The  establishment  of 
stations  for  regular  preaching,  and  the  organization  of  churches, 
have  received  full  attention  wherever  God  opened  the  way. 

The  Press  affords  another  agency  of  especial  ira[)ortance  among 
a  people  where  four-fifths  of  the  men  and  boys  are  able  to  read. 
The  mission  press  at  Bangkok  is  constantly  sending  forth  copies 
of  the  Scriptures  in  Siamese,  with  translations  from  such  books 
as  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  the  "  Child's  Book  of  the  Soul," 
etc.,  and  also  tracts  and  books  prepared  especially  for  this  pur- 
pose,— such  as  "  The  Light  of  Europe,"  written  by  a  native 
Christian  layman  as  a  criticism  on  Arnold's  "  Light  of  Asia." 
Its  j)ul)lication  of  the  Siamese  Hymnal  has  also  proved  very  ser- 
viceable among  a  music-loving  race.  It  may  be  mentioned  that 
the  Bible  itself  is  usually  printed  in  separate  portions  only,  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  a  complete  copy,  even  in  the  smallest 
Siamese  type,  would  make  a  volume  of  larger  size  than  our 
Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary.  The  delay  in  translating 
was  caused  by  the  need  of  accuracy,  such  as  can  only  be  ensured 
by  emj)loying  men  who  have  been  long  on  the  field  and  have 


THE    MISSIONS    IN    SIAM.  223 

become  very  familiar  with  the  langua_i!;e.  There  have  been  in 
use,  ahuost  from  the  very  beginning,  translations  of  the  Gospels 
and  of  some  other  books  which  have  served  a  good  purpose  for 
the  time ;  but  the  preparation  of  a  standard  Siamese  Bible, 
which  is  greatly  needed,  is  of  much  slower  and  more  difficult 
attainment.  The  language  is  one  which  does  not  lend  itself  to 
the  expression  of^ruths  so  elevated  as  those  of  Scripture  with  as 
much  facility  as  some  others  which  appear  less  promising. 

Medlc'd  work  has  also  been  a  most  valuable  adjunct  of  mis- 
sionary effort,  and  this  in  two  ways.  Here,  as  in  every  land,  it 
opens  a  way  to  the  hearts  of  men  by  its  self-denying  beneficence, 
and  affords  many  an  opportunity  of  pointing  the  sin-sick  soul  to 
the  Great  Physician.  But  there  is  also  the  further  effect  of  un- 
dermining the  native  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  spirit-worship. 
The  mere  fact  of  finding  malaria  healed  through  the  use  of 
quinine  by  one  of  the  native  assistants  is  mentioned  as  producing 
a  marked  impression  of  this  kind.  It  helps  to  convince  them  that 
Christianity  shows  itself  to  be  of  God  by  its  harmony  with  all  other 
truth,  even  in  nature  and  science ;  whereas  the  whole  teachings 
of  Buddhism  regarding  its  system  of  heavens  and  hells  are  contra- 
dicted and  disproved  by  the  science  of  astronomy,  and  the  em- 
ployment of  incantations  and  witchcraft  for  the  sick  is  proven  to 
be  false  and  useless  by  the  scientific  medical  practice  introduced 
by  missionaries.  The  opportunities  for  such  service  are  abun- 
dant. Dr.  House  found  this  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  practice 
to  such  an  extent  that  in  the  first  eighteen  months  he  treated 
3117  patients.  The  need  of  such  practice  was  shown  in  a  terrible 
way  soon  afterward,  when  cholera  was  carrying  off  its  victims  at 
the  rate  of  30,000  a  month.  So  favorable  is  the  impression  pro- 
duced upon  the  Siamese  by  this  work  that  they  are  now'  taking  it 
up  for  themselves.  In  1881  it  is  noted  that  a  hospital  for  60 
patients  had  been  erected  and  given  for  public  use  by  a  native 
nobleman,  and  in  charge  of  native  attendants;  the  physician 
in  charge  being  Dr.  Tien  Hee,  who  had  graduated  some  years 
earlier  from  the  missionary  boarding-school  at  Bangkok,  and 
afterward  from  the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York.  The  very  existence  and  operation  of  such  a  hos- 
pital is  a  living  argument  against  Buddhism,  of  unceasing  and 
ever-widening  operation.  The  sad  need  of  it,  even  for  the  jiur- 
pose  of  humane  care  for  the  suffering,  was  shown  immediately 
after  its  erection,  during  the  renewed  visitation  of  cholera  in  the 
summer  of  1881,  when  the  death-rate  in  Bangkok  had  risen  to 
five  hundred  a  day  at  the  very  beginning  of  July.  Surely  there 
is  abundant  material  for  prayer  to  the  Great  Physician  at  our 
missionary  concerts,  in  view'  of  such  facts  as  these.    The  devoted 


224  IIISTOUICAL   SKKTCH    OF 

efTorts  of  Christian  pliysiciaiis,  lahorini^  in  tlie  midst  of  all  dan- 
gei-s,  and,  in  such  cases  iu<  that  of  the  veteran  Dr.  House,  for  the 
period  of  a  whole  generation,  deserve  the  most  cordial  recognition 
and  support. 

Education  has,  of  course,  a  most  important  bearing  upon  mis- 
sion work.  The  experience  of  Dr.  Dutf  in  India,  and,  in  fact, 
that  of  all  who  have  fairly  tried  the  experiment,  confirm  evcry- 
thinir  which  hjvs  been  already  said  of  the  benefit  secured  by 
showing  the  heathen  that  scientific  facts  are  never  contradictory 
to  the  real  doctrine  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  while  such  facts 
are  always  contradictory  to  the  systems  of  false  religion. 
Even  the  ordinary  lessons  of  the  day-school  are  found  to  pro- 
duce among  heathen  families  a  powerful  imi)ression  concerning 
religion,  Avliile,  of  course,  the  missionary  teachere  embrace  every 
suitable  opportunity  for  directing  religious  effort.  There  was,  at 
fii-st,  no  small  difficulty  in  persuading  any  of  the  Siamese  to 
come  and  be  taught,  and  even  in  securing  a  really  desirable 
site  for  a  school.  The  premises  first  occupied  for  the  mission  at 
Bangkok,  and  the  best  which  could  at  the  time  be  obtained, 
were  at  the  lower  end  of  the  city.  Here  are  two  dwelling- 
houses,  a  chaj)el,  and  room  for  the  jn-inting-press,  together  with 
the  school-house  for  boys.  It  wiu<  years  after  this  before  another 
lot  wiLs  procured,  some  five  miles  farther  up  the  river,  in  an 
excellent  ])osition,  oj)i)osite  some  of  the  palaces  and  amidst  the 
better  residences.  Here  is  a  house  for  the  missionaries  and  one 
for  the  girls'  boarding-school.  There  is  an  organized  church  at 
each  of  these  points  made  up  in  part  of  the  membei"ship  of  the 
schools. 

Great  encouragement  has  been  felt  because  of  the  interest 
and  approbation  manifested  by  the  government  in  all  our  edu- 
cational work.  The  appointment  by  the  king  of  Dr.  jNIacFarland 
to  be  principal  of  the  Koyal  College  at  Bangkok  and  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  at  large  is  very  noteworthy.  It 
is  also  to  be  remembered,  that  at  the  Bangkok  Centennial 
Celebration,  in  18<S2,  the  king  bought  the  entire  exhibit  made  by 
the  girls'  school  and  also  2)resented  silver  medals  to  the  prin- 
cipals in  charge  of  it. 

PETCHABURI. 

This  city,  one  hundred  miles  "southwest  of  the  capital,  is  the 
favorite  sanitary  resort  for  Euroj^eans  and  for  the  court.  Though 
numbering  but  twenty  thousand  iidiabitants,  it  is  the  central 
point  of  influence  for  a  district  containing  a  pojjulation  of  five 
hundred  thousand.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  when  Petchaburi 
was  visiter!    by  a   missionary  in   1843  his  books  were   refused, 


THE    MISSIONS   IN   SIAM.  225 

and  every  attempt  to  exert  even  a  passing  influence  for  Chris- 
tianity was  repulsed  in  the  most  unc()nij)roniising  manner  ))y 
the  authorities.  In  1861,  however,  it  was  by  tlie  urgent  request 
of  the  governor  that  a  station  was  formed  at  this  point.  Two 
years  later  there  were  three  native  converts  applying  for  mem- 
bership, and  a  church  was  thereupon  organized,  which  has  been 
steadily  growing  ever  since. 

School  work  is  very  promiment  in  Petchaburi.  There  were 
nine  schools  at  different  points  in  the  city  in  1885,  and  the 
Girls'  Industrial  School  has  much  of  special  interest  connected 
with  it.  In  1865,  when  the  ladies  tried  to  induce  some  of  the 
ignorant,  half-grown  girls  of  the  neighborhood  to  come  and  be 
taught  sewing,  with  reading  and  writing,  there  was  much  diffi- 
culty in  seen i-ing  even  one.  The  idea  of  teaching  a  girl  anything 
was  so  completely  novel  that  the  greatest  opposition  was  made 
by  the  parents,  as  well  as  the  girls  themselves,  to  such  an  under- 
taking. The  results  in  this  case,  however,  approved  themselves 
so  well  that  the  new  enterprise  grew  in  favor,  and  before  very 
long  the  two  ladies  had  forty-five  girls  in  their  charge,  which  was 
quite  as  many  as  they  could  care  for,  with  all  their  other  ac- 
tivities. Soon  after  this  was  begun  an  invitation  was  extended  to 
younger  scholars,  for  whom  a  primary  school  was  formed.  In 
this  case  also  the  result  was  most  encouraging.  Parents  would 
come  to  visit  the  school, re])eating  there  the  Scrii:)ture  verses  which 
they  had  caught  from  their  children. 

At  one  of  the  other  schools  the  two  native  teachers  were  Chris- 
tians, and  the  report  also  mentions  that  all  but  two  of  the  thirty- 
eight  scholars  were  from  families  in  which  were  some  church 
members ;  so  that  they  were,  to  some  extent,  becoming  surrounded 
by  Christian  influences.  "  The  girls,"  we  are  told,  "  learn  to  make 
clothes  and  wear  them,  to  find  it  possible  to  live  without  swear- 
ing or  chewing  betel."  The  filthy  practice  of  chewing  a  mixture 
of  tobacco  and  the  betel  nut,  which  is  universal,  and  that  of 
being  what  we  should  call  half-naked,  which  is  slowly  being 
corrected,  would  be  very  sure  to  attract  the  attention  of  any  Chris- 
tian woman.  The  details  of  daily  work  in  these  schools  are  full 
of  interest,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary magazme  and  the  Woman's  ]Vork  for  IFojuaw,  which  record 
many  such  facts,  should  have  a  largely-increased  body  of  regular 
readers.  The  interest  of  the  Siamese  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  king  gave  $1000,  and  his  nobles  $1300  more,  for  the  new 
school  building. 

The  native  ministry  began  to  receive  its  development  at  this 
station.  In  1866  the  license  to  preach  was,  for  the  first  time, 
given  to  a  native  Christian.     The  native  preacher  who  is  men- 


-'2(t  iiisTouiCAL  8Ki:tcii  of 

tioned  in  a  letter  from  Potchaburi,  ihxtM  1<S80,  bears  the  marks 
of  an  excellent  Christian.  He  wtus  s<>  attectionately  attached 
to  the  elder  of  his  church  that  the  death  of  the  latter  brought 
upon  him  a  severe  illness,  wjiich  tlnvateiied  his  own  life.  He  is 
depicted  as  faithful  in  family  traininir,  constant  in  jireaching,  in 
actini:  as  assistant  surireon  also,  vaccinating  the  people,  and 
giving  help  of  any  kind  wherever  needed.  Emergencies  recpiir- 
iiig  just  sucli  ready  helpci-s  arc  not  seldom  found,  as,  for  example, 
in  the  cholera  scourge  of  18H1,  whicli  was  fearfully  prevalent  not 
only  in  li;uigkok,  but  tlirouLrliout  many  other  cities.  The  letter  of 
Miss  Cort,  in  the  Foreif/n  MU'<io>iary  of  October,  l.S,Sl,  presents  a 
picture  of  desperate  suH'ering  all  around,  and  of  pure  Christian  de- 
votedness,  which  is  intense  in  its  very  simplicity.  It  is  greatly  to  be 
deprecated  that  such  a  station  should  be  left,  as  Petchaburi  was 
in  1<S80,  for  several  months  without  any  ordained  minister  on  the 
ground.  The  ladies  of  the  mission  cared  faithfully  for  its  in- 
terests, but  there  are  many  needful  services  which  in  a  heathen 
city  cannot  be  pefornied  by  ladies.  It  is  no  wonder  that  there 
came  to  be  need  for  the  discipline  which,  in  this  ease,  was  so 
firndy  and  successfully  administered  when  the  mission  was 
reinforced. 

Medical  work  in  this  station  ha.s  been  very  succassful.  One 
report  mentions  5,722  ca.ses  as  treated  by  Dr.  Hturge,  and  the 
mission  hospital  has  proven  to  be  a  veritable  spring  of  blessings 
to  body  and  soul  alike. 

The  death  of  Mr.  McLaren,  in  1883,  was  a  serious  loss  to  the 
mission. 

OUT-.STATIONS. 

The  best  sign  of  health  in  any  church,  in  the  foreign  field 
or  at  home,  is  the  existence  of  an  aggressive  spirit,  leading  the 
membei-s  to  go  out  to  the  world  around  them  with  their  prayers, 
gifts  and  efforts.  This  sign  marks  both  of  the  churches  at  which 
we  have  been  looking.  From  that  at  Bangkok  an  additional 
church  has  been  formed ;  and  i'rom  that  at  Petchaburi,  five 
more,  besides  all  the  preaching-stations  which  are  regularly 
occupied. 

THE  LAOS  MISSION. 

This  name  indicates  an  organization  which  is  distinct  and 
sejjarate,  though  it  is  grouped  with  the  Siamese  mission  in  our 
reports,  and  is,  of  course,  very  closely  connected  with  it.  The 
Laos  peoj)le,  it  will  be  remembered,  are  distinct  from  the  Siamese, 
though  subject  to  the  royal  government.    The  upper  i)lain,  which 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   SIAM,  227 

has  already  been  described  as  their  home,  though  but  five  hundred 
miles  above  Bangkok,  is  practically  farther  from  it  than  is  New- 
York  itself,  if  the  distance  is  estimated  by  the  length  of  time 
required  for  the  journey.  The  rapids  in  the  river  and  the  almost 
impiLssable  mountains  on  each  side  of  it  present  a  barrier  not 
quickly  passed  over.  A  survey  has  been  recently  made,  how- 
ever, for  a  railway  through  the  country,  from  British  Burmah  to 
the  Chinese  province  of  Yunnen,  and  the  British  consul  has 
secured  a  bi-weekly  mail  service.  Chieng-mai,  the  capital,  was 
visited  by  a  deputation  from  the  Siam  mission  in  1863,  and  in 
1867  and  1868  Messrs.  McGilvary  and  Wilson  came  to  remain. 
They  were  soon  encouraged  by  the  conversion  of  Nan  Inta,  a 
man  Avho  had  thoroughly  studied  Buddhism  and  was  dissatisfied 
with  it,  while  knowing  of  nothing  to  replace  it.  He  was  much 
impressed  by  having  the  eclipse  of  August  18,  1868,  foretold  by 
the  missionary  a  week  in  advance.  He  found  the  science  of  the 
Christians  disproving  the  fables  of  Buddhism,  and  at  once  began 
eagerly  to  study  the  more  directly  spiritual  truths  connected 
with  Christianity.  He  was  soon  able  to  make  an  intelligent 
confession  of  faith  in  Christ,  which  he  maintained  until  his  death, 
in  1 882,  and  seven  other  converts  were  baptized  within  a  few 
months.  At  this  point  the  infant  church  was  brought  to  a  season 
of  persecution  and  martyrdom.  The- king  of  the  Laos,  who 
usually  exercised  full  control  over  his  own  people,  though  tribu- 
tary to  Siam,  began  to  manifest  the  hostility  which  he  had  thus 
far  concealed.  Noi  Soonya  and  Nan  Chai  were  arrested,  and, 
on  being  brought  before  the  authorities,  confessed  that  they  had 
forsaken  Buddhism.  The  "  death-yoke "  was  then  put  around 
their  necks,  and  a  small  rope  w;is  passed  through  the  holes  in 
their  ears  (used  for  ear-rings  by  all  the  natives),  and  carried 
tightly  over  the  beam  of  the  house.  After  being  thus  tortured 
all  night  they  were  again  examined  in  the  morning,  but  stead- 
fastly refused  to  deny  their  Lord  and  Saviour  even  in  the  face  of 
death.  They  prepared  for  execution  by  praying  unto  Him, 
closing  with  the  words,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  Being 
then  taken  off  to  the  jungle,  they  were  clubbed  to  death  by  the 
executioner,  and  one  of  them,  not  dying  quickly  enough,  was 
thrust  through  the  heart  by  a  spear.  The  whole  record  is  like 
one  from  the  apostolic  age,  and  speaks  vividly  of  the  first  martyrs 
and  of  the  same  Lord  by  whose  living  presence  they  were  sus- 
tained.    Such  fruits  of  the  S[)irit  are  unmistakable. 

The  persecution  which  thus  began  checked  seriously  for  the 
time  any  progress  in  mission  work.  Shortly  after  this,  however, 
the  king  died,  and  progress  was  resumed.  Several  new  converts 
were  soon  received,  and  it  was  found  that  these  cases  of  martyr- 


228  IIISTOKICAL   SKETCH    OF 

(lorn  had  j)ro(hu'e<l  a  deep  impression  for  good.  Still  later,  in 
LST'H.  another  crisis  was  eneountercd,  though  less  serious  in  its 
nature.  The  missionaries  had  decided  to  perform  the  marriage 
ceremony  between  two  native  Christians  who  had  apj)lied  to 
them,  and  to  do  this  without  making  any  provision  for  the  cus- 
tomary teast  to  the  demons.  The  relatives,  wiio  were  all  devil- 
worshipjHTs,  prevented  the  marriage  on  this  account,  and  the 
authorities  supported  them  in  the  refusal.  An  a])])eal  was  at 
once  made  to  the  king  of  Siam,  which  brought  for  reply  a 
"  Proclamation  of  Religious  Liberty  to  the  Laos,"  which  j)laced 
the  whole  matter  on  a  new  basis  and  entirely  changed  the 
conduct  of  the  officials.  This  proclamation  was  viewed  as  a  great 
step  in  advance.  It  will  be  seen  that  although  Jkiddhism  is 
theoretically  opposed  both  to  persecution  and  to  devil-worship, 
yet  Buddhists  can  be  practically  guilty  of  both  the  one  and  the 
other. 

The  pulpit  and  the  press,  the  school-house  and  the  hospital,  are 
to  be  given  active  operation  here,  as  in  the  Siamese  mission. 

The  work  of  printing  has  been  delayed  by  the  great  difficulty 
in  procuring  suitable  type.  The  charactei"s  used,  as  noted  above, 
are  entirely  different  from  those  employed  by  the  Siamese ;  and 
the  diversitied  nature  of  a  missionary's  work  would  be  vividly 
realized  by  any  one  who  should  read  Mr.  Wilson's  experience 
with  the  type  foundries  in  New  York  and  Boston,  followed  by 
other  difficulties  on  the  field.  The  work  of  translating  and 
printing  is  urged  forward  with  all  diligence. 

Medical  work  has  received  special  attention.  In  1882  there 
were  loOO  patient-^  receiving  aid,  and  the  erection  of  a  j)ermanent 
hospital  in  1885,  by  the  help  of  contributions  from  our  Sunday- 
Schools,  has  proved  to  be  a  signal  step  forward.  A  Sanitarium, 
established  in  1885,  is  regarded  with  much  hopefulness  as  a  new 
agency  for  conserving  the  strength  of  missionaries  themselves. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  field  was  left  in  1881  and  1882 
almost  as  deficient  in  active  laborei-s  as  Petchaburi  had  been  the 
year  before. 

The  Chieng-mai  church  is  growing  well,  both  in  numbers  and  in 
grace.  One  of  the  good  signs  is  in  the  fact  that  a  prayer-meeting 
is  conducted  each  week  by  native  elders  and  church  members, 
with  careful  preparation  and  evident  usefulness. 

The  Bethlehem  church  was  organized  in  July,  1880,  at  a  point 
some  nine  miles  from  Chieng-mai.  This  was  the  result  of  an 
interesting  awakening  of  inquiry  among  the  natives,  who  had 
heard  of  C'hristianity  from  relatives  visiting  the  capital. 

The  Lakawn  church  has  also  been  organized,  at  a  distance  of 
ninety  miles  from  the  parent  congregation.     One  of  the  Chieng- 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   8IAM. 


229 


mai  members,  having  his  residence  at  this  point,  had  instructed  a 
little  band  in  Christian  truth,  so  that  they  were  ready  for  baptism 
when  the  missionary  should  visit  them. 

The  Maa-Dok-Dang  church  was  organized  in  1881,  and  the 
four  chuxches  were  grouped  into  a  Presbytery  in  1883. 

Rahang,  on  the  frontiei-s  of  Siara,  half-way  between  Chieng-mai 
and  Bangkok,  is  described  as  inviting  regular  occupancy.  During 
Mr.  McGilvary's  visit,  in  1880,  he  met  several  inquirers  and 
applicants  for  baptism.  Two  were  actually  baptized,  and  one 
began  to  receive  instru(^tion  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry. 


THE   OUTLOOK. 

In  both  of  the  missions  at  which  we  have  now  glanced  the 
prospect  is  decidedly  encouraging.  It  is  true  that  in  point  of 
actual  members  it  has  only  been  since  1860  that  any  visible 
results  appeared,  and  the  roll  (at  the  beginning  of  1885)  included 
but  five  hundred  and  forty-seven.  The  rate  of  progress,  however, 
since  the  advance  did  begin  has  steadily  increased,  so  that 
in  one  year  the  Siamese  churches  were  increased  by  one-quarter 
and  those  of  the  Laos  by  nearly  one-half  of  their  previous 
number. 

There  are  other  tokens,  moreover,  less  easily  stated  in  figures, 
but  no  less  obvious.  Buddhism  is  shown  to  be  losing  ground  by 
such  facts  as  these :  fewer  men  go  into  the  priesthood,  so  that  in 
Bangkok  there  arc  but  half  as  many  as  there  were  some  years 
since.  "  Monasteries  which  formerly  had  from  seventy-five  to 
one  hundred  priests  have  now  not  over  twenty."  Those  who  do 
enter  the  priesthood  remain  for  a  shorter  term  than  formerly. 
"  The  king  himself  only  remained  in  the  priesthood  a  month,  and 
his  younger  brother  recently  entered  it  for  three  days."  Our 
inference  from  such  a  fact  is  confirmed  by  the  further  statement 
that  the  leading  priests  are  themselves  becoming  so  alarmed  that 
they  are  taking  vigorous  measures  to  defend  Buddhism  by  print- 
ing and  distributing  books  which  attack  Christianity  and  uphold 
the  native  religion.  We  are  reminded  of  the  fact  that  when  the 
early  missionai'ies  arrived  in  Siam  a  native  nobleman  said  to 
them,  "  Do  you  with  your  little  chisel  expect  to  remove  this  great 
mountain?"  Years  afterward,  when  one  of  those  missionary 
pioneers  had  died,  though  without  seeing  any  fruit  of  his  labors, 
another  nobleman  exclaimed,  "  Dr.  Bradley  is  gone,  but  he  has 
undermined  Buddhism  in  Siam."  It  w^as  a  felicitous  expression. 
"Undermining"  is  a  form  of  work  in  which  every  stroke  tells 
with  the  greatest  advantage.     Even  a  chisel  may  be  used  with 

10* 


230  in.STOKK  AL   .SKET(  II    OF 

success  against  a  massive  dift'  if  it  be  employed  to  "  undermine  " 
it.  The  missionaries  have  cut  their  little  channels  under  the 
cliff,  and  laid  u|)  here  and  there  the  magazines  of  sjjiritual  ])o\ver, 
in  full  expectation  that  the  electric  flash  of  divine  fire  would  in 
due  time  pass  through  the  channels,  and  split  in  piece-s  t\ie 
mighty  rock. 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  do  merely  this  negative  work.  There 
is  pressing  need  of  positively  Christianizing  the  land  Jis  it  becomes 
emptied  of  Buddhism,  else  the  bust  state  of  this  |)eople  will  be 
worse  than  the  first.  Infidelity  is  no  improvement  upon 
Buddhism.  Our  chief  encouragement  is  in  the  evident  presence 
of  that  living  Lord  who  can  bless  the  more  positive  work  of 
building  up  Christianity,  as  He  has  blessed  the  negative  work  of 
undermining  Budtlhism.  The  men  who  occupy  the  outposts  on 
the  field  regard  themselves  as  anything  but  a  "  forlorn  hope," 
Avhile  their  weapons  are  proving  miglity  through  God  to  the 
casting  down  of  strongholds.  We,  who  read  of  it  all  from  afar, 
can  surely  do  our  part  in  standing  by  them  with  ]>rayer  and  sym- 
])athy  and  every  needful  suj^port.  The  Caj)tain  of  the  host  of  the 
Lord  may  well  look  to  us  also  for  that  "obedience  of  faith"  which 
shows  itself  by  trusting  in  Him  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  })lan  and 
the  certainty  of  its  success,  while  meantime  we  simply  obey  our 
standing  orders  by  doing  all  we  can  to  "  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature." 


MISSIONARIES,  1886. 

SIAM. 

Bangkok  :  on  the  River  Meinam,  25  miles  from  its  mouth  ; 
occupied  as  a  mission  station  in  1840  to  1844,  and  from  1847  to 
the  present  time.  Missionary  laborers — Rev.  Messrs.  Noah  A. 
McDonald,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Jas.  W.  Van  Dyke,  and  their 
wives;  Rev.  E.  Wachter;  Miss  Mary  McDonald,  Miss  Laura  A. 
Olmstead. 

Petciiakuri  :  on  the  western  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Siam,  85 
miles  southwest  from  Bangkok  ;  occupied  as  a  mission  station  in 
1861.  Missionary  laborers — Rev.  Eugene  P.  Dunlap  and  his 
wife ;  Miss  M.  L.  Cort,  Mrs.  C.  D.  Mcl^aren,  and  Miss  Jennie  B. 
Neilson. 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   SIAM. 


231 


LAOS. 


Chieng-mai:  on  the  Kiver  Quee-Piug,  500  miles  north  of 
Bangkok  ;  occupied  an  a  mission  station,  1867  ;  missionary  lahor- 
ers — Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson ;  Rev.  Messrs.  Daniel  McGilvary, 
D.  D.,  Chalmei's  Martin,  and  B.  C.  Peoples,  M.  D.,  and  their 
wives  ;  M.  A.  Cheek,  M.  D.,  and  his  wife ;  Miss  Edna  S.  Cole, 
Miss  Isabella  A.  Griffin,  and  Miss  Eliza  P.  Westervelt. 


Missionaries  in  Siam  and  Laos,  1840-1886. 

*  Died.    Figures,  Term  of  Service  in  the  P'ield. 


Anderson,  Miss  A.,  1872-1876 

Arthur,  Rev.  R.,  1871-1873 

Arthur,  Mrs.,  1871-1873 

«Buell,  Rev.  William  P.,  1840-1844 

*Buell,  Mrs.,  1840-1844 

Bush, Rev.  Stephen,  1849-1853 

•Bush,  Mrs.,  1849-1851 

Garden,  Rev.  Patrick  L.,  1866-1869 

Garden,  Mrs.,  1866-1869 

Garrington,  Rev.  John,  1869-1875 

Garrington,  Mrs.,  1869-1875 

«Goffinan,  Miss  S.,  1874- 

Cort,  Miss  M.  L.,  1874- 

Gulbertson,  Rev.  J.  N.,  1871-1881 
Gulbertson,  Mrs.  (Miss  B. 

Galdwell),  1878-1881 

Dickey,  Miss  E.  S.,  1871-1873 

Dunlap,  Rev.  E.  P.,  1875-1880 

Dunlap,  Mrs.,  1875-1880 

George,  Rev.  S.  G.,  1862-1873 

George,  Mrs.,  1862-1873 

Grimstead,  Miss  S.  D.,  1874-1877 

Hartwell,  Miss  M.  E.,  1879-1884 
House,  Rev.  S.  R.  (M.D.),1847-1876 

House,  Mrs.  H.  N.,  1856-1876 


McGauley,  Rev.  J.  M.,  1878-1880 
McCauley,  Mrs.  (Miss  J. 

Kooserj,  1878-1880 

McClelland,  Rev.  G.  S.,  1880-1883 

McGlelland,  Mrs.,  1880-1883 
McDonald,  Rev.  Noah  A.,  1860- 

McDonald,  Mrs.,  1860- 

McDonald,  Miss  H.  H.,  1879-1884 

McDonald,  Miss  Mary,  1881- 

McFarland,  Rev.  S.  G.,  1860-1878 

McFarland,  Mrs.,  1860-1878 

»McLaren,  Rev.  G.  D.,  1882-1883 

McLaren,  Mrs.,  1882- 

Mattoon,  Rev.  S.,  1847-1866 

Mattoon,  Mrs.,  1847-1866 

Morse,  Rev.  Andrew  B.,  1856-18.58 

Morse,  Mrs.,  1856-1858 

Neilson,  Miss  J.  B.,  1884- 

*Odell,  Mrs.  John  F.,  1863-1864 

Olmstead,  Miss  L.  A.,  1880- 

Sturge,  E.A.  (M.D.),  1880-1885 

Sturge,  Mrs.,  1881-1885 
Van  Dyke,  Rev.  James  W., 1869- 

Van  Dyke,  Mrs.,  1869- 

Wachter,  Rev.  E.,  1884- 


«Carapbell,  Miss  M.  M.,  1879-1881 

Cheek,  M.  A.  (M.D.),  1875- 

Cheek,  Mrs.  1875- 

Cole,  Miss  E.  S.,  1879- 

Griffin,  Missl.  A.,  1883- 

Hearst,  Kev.  J.  P.,  1883-1884 

Hearst,  Mrs.,  1883-1884 

McGilvary,  Rev.  D.,  1858- 

McGilvary,  Mrs.,  1860- 

Martin,  Rev.  C.,  1883- 


Martin,  Mrs.,  1883- 

Peoples,  Rev.  S.  C.  (M.D.),1883- 
Peoples,  Mrs.  (Miss  S. 

Wirt,  1883-),  1884- 

*Vrooman,  C.  W.  (M.D.),  1871-1873 
Warner,  Miss  A.,  1883-1885 

Westervelt,  Miss  E.  P.,      1884- 
Wilson,  Rev.  Jonathan,     1858- 
*Wilson,  Mrs.  Maria,         1858-1860 
«Wilson,  Mrs.,  1866-1885 


232        historical  sketch  of  the  missions  in  8iam. 

Books  of  Refekence. 

The  Land  of  the  White  Elephant.    F.  Vincent.    $3.50. 
Siiim;  or,  the  Land  of  the  White  Elephant.     Rev.  Mr.  Bacon.    $1.50. 
Siiini :   its  Government,    Manners  and   Customs.     Rev.  N.  A.  McDonald. 
$1.25. 

The  .lournal  of  Dr.  Abeel. 

Manual  of  Buddhism.     Rev.  R.  Spence  Hardy. 

Buddhism.     T.   \V.  llhvs  David.s.     75  cents. 

Fau-Kwii.     Dr.  W.  M!  Wood,   U.  S.  N.     $1.50. 

Tile  Laud  of  Teiu|)les  and  Liei)liauts.     Carl   Boclc. 

Siain  and  Laos.     Presbyterian  Board  of  Publicalion.    $1.85. 


Il 


una. 


BY 


Rev.  albert  B.  ROBINSON. 


fBXTB 


MISSIONS  IN   CHINA. 


I. — The    Country. 

Population. — "  The  Middle  Kingdom  "  contains  more  than 
one-fourth  of  the  human  race.  A  New  England  pastor  has  sug- 
gested the  following  object  lesson  :  A  diagram  is  drawn  contain- 
ing one  hundred  squares,  each  representing  four  millions  of  souls. 
On  this  surface,  which  stands  for  China,  ten  squares  are  marked 
off"  for  France,  twelve  for  the  United  States,  etc. ;  and  the  popula- 
tion of  China  exceeds,  by  more  than  one-half,  the  aggregate 
population  of  the  five  foremost  nations  of  Christendom.  Various 
estimates  have  been  made  by  those  best  qualified  to  judge  ;  it  is 
probably  safe,  however,  to  place  the  population  of  this  hive  of 
humanity  at  three  hundred  and  fifty  millions. 

Area. — The  eighteen  provinces  of  China  proper  embrace  an 
area  of  a  million  and  a  half  square  miles  ;  while  the  Chinese  em- 
pire extends  over  nearly  one-tenth  of  the  habitable  globe.  "  Each 
province  in  China,"  says  a  recent  Avriter,  "  is  about  as  large  as 
Great  Britain ;  so  that  China  proper  may  be  compared  to  eighteen 
Great  Britains  placed  side  by  side.  But  Avhen  we  include  Mon- 
golia, Manchuria,  Thibet,  and  other  dependencies,  we  find  that 
the  Vermillion  pencil  lays  down  the  law  for  a  territory  as  large  as 
Europe  and  about  one-third  more." 

History, — Chinese  history  embraces  a  period  of  more  than 
forty  centuries.  At  the  centennial  of  the  incorporation  of  the 
town  of  West  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  a  few  years  since,  Mr. 
Chan  Laisun,  then  Chinese  commissioner  of  education,  made  an 
address  in  which  he  said  that  in  his  native  country  he  had  taken 
part  in  several  millennial  celebrations,  Avhich  were  not  unconmion 
there.  The  chief  authority  for  the  history  of  China  is  the  Shu 
King,  a  Avork  in  which  Confucius  compiled  the  historical  documents 
of  the  nation.  From  this  Ave  learn  that  Yao  and  Shun  reigned 
from  2357  b.  c.  to  about  2200  b.  c,  Avhen  the  Hia  Dxjnasty  Avas 
founded  by  Yu  the  Great.  This  Avas  succeeded,  1766  b.  c,  by  the 
Shang  Dynasty,  Avhich  in  its  turn  Avas  OA^erthroAvn,  about  1100 
B.  c,  by  AYu  Wang,  founder  of  the  Chdu  Dynasty.  During  this 
period  (1100  to  255  b.  c.)  lived  Confucius,  who  AA^as  born  551  b.  o. 

235 


2'M)  HISTORICAL   SKKTCH    OF 

The  Ts'in  Dijnudij  was  founded  24!)  i\.  c.  I)y  the  tyrant  Liicheng, 
wlu)  wiis  the  first  to  assume  the  title  W/utngiee.  lie  built  the 
Great  Wall  as  a  proteetion  against  the  invasion  of  the  Tartai-s,  and 
atteini)ted  to  blot  out  the  memory  of  the  past  by  burning  the 
books  that  contained  historical  records.  From  the  name  of  this 
dynasty  the  country  was  called  Chin  or  China.  The  Han 
Di/iifi.sty  continued  from  20()  u.  <".  to  220  a.  d.  One  of  the  emperors 
ol  this  line  restored  the  books  destroyed  by  Liicheng  ;  and  another, 
A.  D.  66,  sent  to  the  West,  in  search  of  a  new  religion,  messengers, 
who  returned  accompanied  by  Buddhi.st  priests.  A  perio<l  of 
division  was  succeeded  by  the  second  Ts'iii  Dynasty,  which  con- 
tinued until  A.  D.  420.  After  the  rule  of  the  Tartars  in  the  north, 
the  families  of  Sung  and  Tang  came  successively  into  power. 
The  invasion  of  Genghis  Khan,  in  the  the  thirteenth  century, 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  tlu;  Mongol  Dynasty  (a.  d.  1279- 
1368).  A  revolution  led  by  a  Buddhist  monk  overthrew  the 
Mongols,  who  were  followed  A.  D.  1368  by  the  Mings.  This 
dynasty  continued  until  A.  d.  1644,  when  the  Manchoo  Tartars, 
taking  advantage  of  a  ])olitical  quarrel,  placed  upon  the  throne 
Shun-chi,  son  of  their  own  king,  and  founded  the  Tsing  Dynasty, 
which  continues  to  the  present  day. 

Language. — The  Chinese  language  has  no  alphabet ;  each 
character  represents  a  word.  The  imperial  dictionary  of  the 
emperor  Kang-hi  contains  more  than  forty  thousand  characters ; 
but  it  is  said  that  only  five  or  six  thousand  arc  in  ordinary  use. 
These  characters  are  not  inflected.  Distinctions  which  in  other 
languages  are  marked  by  a  change  in  the  form  of  the  word,  in 
the  Chinese  are  made  by  using  additional  characters  ;  e.  g.,  people 
is  multitude  man,  son  is  man  child,  etc.  In  the  written  language 
the  characters  are  arranged  in  perpendicular  columns,  which  follow 
one  another  from  right  to  left.  The  negative  form  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  as  given  in  the  Lung-yu  or  "  Conversation,"  is  regarded  as 
a  good  specimen  of  Chinese  style  : 

Ki       su      pok      iik      iik     sic     ii      ing. 
Self   what     not     wish    not    do     to     man. 

The  Wen  Id  is  the  written  or  classical  language,  and  is  understood 
in  all  parts  of  the  empire,  while  the  spoken  (lialects  or  colloquials 
differ  almost  as  much  as  do  the  languages  of  Europe.  The  We7i  Li 
is  not  used  in  conversation.  For  this  the  following  reason  is 
given  :  since  the  number  of  characters  is  many  times  greater  than 
the  number  of  monosyllables  it  is  ])ossil)le  to  form  with  the  vocal 
organs,  several  different  characters  must  receive  the  same  sound. 
The  written  language  therefore  speaks  to  the  eye  rather  than  to  the 
ear.     Quotations  from  books,  used  in  conversation,  are  most  in- 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   CHINA.  237 

telligible  when  already  familiar  to  the  listener.  Among  the  more 
important  of  the  colloquials  are  the  Canton,  the  Amoy,  the  Foo- 
chow,  the  Shanghai,  and  the  Ningpo. 

The  Kwan-hiva,  "  language  of  officers,"  is  the  court  dialect, 
which  the  government  requires  all  its  officials  to  use.  It  is  com- 
monly called  by  foreigners  the  mandarin  (from  the  Portuguese 
mando,  to  command).  It  is  the  prevalent  language  in  sixteen 
provinces,  and  is  spoken  by  about  two  hundred  millions  of  China- 
men. Both  the  Mandarin  and  the  more  important  colloquials  have 
been  reduced  to  Avriting. 

To  master  the  Chinese  language  is  not  an  easy  task.  John 
AVesley  said  the  devil  invented  it  to  keep  the  gospel  out  of  China. 
The  difficulty  of  acquiring  one  of  the  colloquials  is  increased  by 
the  use  of  the  tones  and  aspirates.  For  example,  in  the  colloquial 
of  Amoy  there  are  ten  different  ways  of  uttering  the  monosyllable 
pang,  and  according  to  the  utterance  it  has  as  many  different  mean- 
ings. A  missionary  was  once  visiting  a  family  who  were  mourning 
the  death  of  a  near  relation.  Wishing  to  ask  whether  they  had 
buried  the  corpse,  he  used  the  right  word,  but  misplaced  the  aspirate, 
so  that  he  really  asked  whether  they  had  murdered  their  relative. 

Pigeon-English  is  business-English.  "Pigeon  "  was  merely  the 
result  of  the  Chinaman's  attempt  to  pronounce  the  word  business. 
This  Anglo-Chinese  dialect  is  a  jargon  consisting  of  a  few  hundred 
words — chiefly  corrupt  English  words — while  the  idioms  are  mostly 
Chinese.  It  serves  the  purpose  for  which  it  Avas  invented,  enabling 
the  two  races  to  communicate  at  the  commercial  centres  without 
the  necessity  of  either  learning  the  language  of  the  other. 

Character  of  the  People. — "  Never,"  says  Dr.  W.  A.  P. 
Martin,  "  have  a  great  people  been  more  misunderstood.  They 
are  denounced  as  stolid  because  we  are  not  in  possession  of  a 
medium  sufficiently  transparent  to  convey  our  ideas  to  them  or 
transmit  theirs  to  us ;  and  stigmatized  as  barbarians  because  we 
want  the  breadth  to  comprehend  a  civilization  different  from  our 
own.  They  are  represented  as  servile  imitators  though  they  have 
borrowed  less  than  any  other  people ;  as  destitute  of  the  inventive 
faculty,  though  the  world  is  indebted  to  them  for  a  long  catalogue 
of  the  most  useful  discoveries  ;  and  as  clinging  with  unquestioning 
tenacity  to  a  heritage  of  traditions,  though  they  have  passed 
through  many  and  profound  changes  in  their  history." 

Keligions. — The  Chinese  had  anciently  a  knowledge  of  a 
divine  Being,  received  possibly  by  tradition  from  an  earlier  time. 
The  woi-ship  of  this  great  Power,  which  they  called  Shangte 
(Supreme  Ruler),  became  very  early  a  representative  worship.  It 
Avas  restricted  to  the  emperor ;  the  people  had  no  part  in  it.  This 
fact  may  account  for  the  growth  of  idolatry,  the  worship  of  a  great 


238  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

multitude  of  spirits  and  the  worship  of  iincoiitors.  "  It  is  not  in- 
L'ratitudo,"  thoy  say,  "hut  reverence  that  prevents  onr  worship  of 
Shangte.  lie  is  too  great  for  us  to  worship.  None  l)ut  the 
emperor  is  worthy  to  hiy  an  offering  on  the  altar  of  Heaven." 
Altliough  the  original  monotheism  is  retained  in  the  state  worship 
of  to-day,  the  idea  of  God  is  almost  wholly  lost. 

Confucius  used  the  more  indefinite  term  T'ien  (heaven)  instead 
of  Shangte,  though  doubtless  referring  to  the  personal  Being  whom 
his  eountrymen  had  woi'shi|)i)ed.  He  did  not  pretend  to  originate 
any  new  system  of  doctrine,  hut  nuMvly  to  expound  tlie  teadiin.gs 
of  the  wise  men  who  had  i)receded  him.  He  enjoined  the  duties 
arising  out  of  the  five  relations — thosi;  subsisting  between  emixiror 
and  subject,  father  and  sou,  husband  and  wife,  older  and  younger 
brother,  friend  and  friend.  He  also  taui^ht  the  Jive  virtues— Jen, 
benevolence,  yi,  righteousness,  li,  propriety,  cu,  knowledge,  sin, 
fiiith.  But  of  all  the  duties  arising  out  of  the  relations  of  life, 
C'onfucius  dwelt  most  u})on  respect  for  one's  jiarents.  Filial  obe- 
dience is  the  first  and  greatest  duty.  "  No  stigma  which  could  be 
attached  to  the  character  of  a  Chinaman  is  more  dreaded  than 
that  of  puh-hiao,  undutiful.  But  a  good  principle  is  carried  to 
an  unwarranted  extreme  when  Confucius  teachas  that  filial  piety 
demands  the  worship  of  parents  and  sacrifice  to  them  after  death. 
The  little  tal)letset  up  in  the  ancestral  hall  is  supposed  to  be  occu- 
pied, while  the  service  is  performing,  by  the  spirit  of  the  departed 
whose  name  and  title  are  inscribed  upon  it.  Before  this  tablet 
incense  and  caudles  are  burned  and  {)rostrations  made;  offerings 
of  food  are  brought ;  while  paper  money  and  other  articles 
made  of  paper,  supposed  to  be  needed  in  the  spirit  world,  are 
burned. 

When  the  disciples  of  Confucius  asked  their  master  about  death 
he  frankly  replied,  "  Imperfectly  acquainted  with  life,  how  can  I 
know  death?"  Tlie  doctrine  of  tlie  iuiinortality  of  the  soul, 
tliough  implied  in  ancestral  worship,  was  not  distinctly  taught. 
Confucius  recognized  the  existence  of  a  God,  but  was  unable  to 
teach  anything  definite  concerning  Him.  It  has  well  been  said 
there  is  in  the  system  "  no  bringing  down  of  God  to  men  in  order 
to  lift  them  up  to  Him," 

Taoism  originated  with  Lao-tse,  who  lived  in  the  sixth  century 
B.  c,  and  was  contemporary  with  Confucius.  It  was  an  abstruse 
system  full  of  superstitions.  As  a  religion  it  did  not  become  pop- 
ular until,  influenced  by  Buddhism,  it  was  modified  to  its  present 
form.  It  su])j)lie(l  some  of  the  gods  that  are  supposed  to  watch 
over  the  interests  of  the  people. 

The  spiritual  wants  of  the  Chinese  were  not  satisfied.  It  was 
no  doubt  the  imperfection  of  tiieir  religious  systems  that  led  the 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   CHINA.  239 

emperor  Mingte,  of  the  Han  Dyniisty,  to  send  an  embassy  in 
search  of  teachers,  and  disposed  the  people  to  listen  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Buddhism.  The  distinctive  characteristics  of  the  system, 
as  given  by  Dr.  Nevius,  are  a  belief  in  a  benevolent  deity  asso- 
ciated with  inferior  ones,  whose  special  object  and  care  it  is  to 
save  man  from  sin  and  its  consequences ;  the  doctrine  of  the 
transmigration  of  souls  ;  and  the  efficacy  of  good  works.  The 
great  object  of  worshi]i  is  to  make  provision  for  the  future  state 
by  obtaining  merit.  Most  of  the  worshippers  at  the  temples  are 
Avomen.  Believing  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  they  hojie,  by 
faithfulness  in  worship,  to  be  born  in  more  favorable  circum- 
stances. 

The  Chinaman  has  been  called  a  religious  triangle.  He  does 
not  profess  one  of  the  San  Kiao,  or  three  creeds,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  other  two.  All  three  exert  an  influence  over  his  mind. 
They  are  supplementary  ;  the  one  is  supposed  to  meet  a  spiritual 
want  for  which  the  others  make  no  provision.  But  his  three 
religions  have  not  made  the  Chinaman  moral ;  they  have  not 
taught  him  about  God ;  they  have  not  delivered  him  from  the 
thralldom  of  sin. 


II. — Work  op  the  Nestorians. 

In  1625,  at  Si-ngan  Fu,  in  the  province  of  Shensi,  a  monument 
was  found  which  establishes  the  fact  that  the  gospel  was  intro- 
duced into  China  by  Nestorian  missionaries.  It  was  erected  dur- 
ing the  Tang  dynasty,  in  781  A.  d.  The  inscription  upon  the 
tablet,  in  ancient  Chinese  and  Syriac  characters, gives  an  abstract 
of  the  Christian  religion,  and  some  account  of  the  Nestorian  mis- 
sions in  China. 

The  work  and  influence  of  the  Nestorians  must  have  been 
widely  extended  in  the  eighth  century.  The  tablet  speaks  of 
the  great  eternal  cause  as  "  Our  three  in  One  mysterious  Being, 
the  true  Lord."  It  gives  an  account  of  the  creation,  the  sin  of 
man,  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  advent  of  our  Lord, 
His  work  and  ascension,  the  growth  of  the  early  Church,  the 
coming  of  missionaries  to  China  and  their  favorable  reception 
by  the  emperor,  who  said  of  Christianity,  "  As  is  right,  let  it  be 
promulgated  throughout  the  empire."  Among  the  various 
causes  given  for  the  loss  of  that  wide  influence  which  the 
Nestorians  exerted  for  several  centuries  is  the  following :  "  Their 
civilization  was  of  a  lower  type  than  that  of  China."  Perse- 
cutions and  dynastic  changes  weakened  the  Church,  and  it 
finally  became  extinct. 


240 


IIISTOKICAL   SKETCH    OF 


III. — Early  Protestant  Effort. 


Protestant  missionary  efTort  in  China  is  embraced  in  three 
periods:  first,  from  1807  to  1842;  second,  from  1842  to  18()(); 
third,  from  18(j()  to  the  j)resent  time. 

Robert  Morrison,  sent  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  who 
sailed  in  1^07,  went  fii-st  to  Macao,  a  Portuguese  settlement  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Canton  river.  He  afterwards  became  translator  to 
the  East  India  Company's  factory  outside  of  C'anton.  He  was 
most  diligent  in  his  work  of  study  and  translation,  and  though 
"a  prisoner  in  his  own  house  as  far  as  direct  evangelistic  work 
was  concerned,"  he  secretly  instructed  as  many  natives  as  he 
could  reach.  He  baj)tized  Tmi  A-ko,  the  fii-st  convert,  in  1814. 
His  translation  of  the  New  Testament  was  completed  about  that 
time  ;  and  in  1818,  with  the  assistance  of  Milne,  the  whole  Jiible 
was  finished.  The  work  of  the  first  period  was  done  chiefly  in 
the  ]\Ialayan  archipelago.  It  was  a  time  of  foundation-laying. 
The  language  was  studied,  grammars  and  dictionaries  were  made, 
the  Bible  and  other  books  translated.  Tracts  and  })arts  of  the 
Scriptures  were  distributed,  about  one  hundred  converts  were 
baptized,  and  a  few  native  preachers  trained  for  the  work. 
Though  waiting  for  greater  opportunity,  it  was  a  time  of  great 
activity. 

In  1842,  by  the  Treaty  of  Nanking,  five  ports  — Canton,  Amoy, 
Ningpo,  Foochow  and  Shanghai — were  opened  to  foreign  trade 
and  residence.  These  cities  were  at  once  occupied  by  the  faith- 
ful laborers  who,  in  the  Island  JNIissions  among  Chinese  emigrants, 
at  Malacca,  Penang,  Singa])ore  and  Batavia,  had  j)repared  for 
such  an  opening.  Other  mis.sionaries  were  sent,  and  at  the  close 
of  the  second  period,  though  all  effort  had  been  confined  to  the 
treaty  ports,  the  native  Christians  numbered  about  thirteen 
hundred. 

The  Treaty  of  Tien-tsin,  1860,  not  only  legalized  Christian 
missions  and  recognized  the  rights  of  Chinese  converts,  but 
opened  other  places  to  the  gospel. 

IV. — Work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  grew  out  of  the  Western  P\)reign  Missionary  Society,  and  was 
organized  ( )ctober  81, 1837,  commissioned  Kev.  R.W.Orr  and  Ilev. 
J.  A.  ^Mitchell  for  the  Chinese  Mission.  They  sailed  from  New 
York  I)ecem])er  i),  1837,  for  Singapore.  Mr.  JNIitchell  was  soon 
removed  by  death  and  Mr.  Orr  was  compelled  by  failing  health  to 
return  within  two  years.     Rev.  T.  L.  McBryde,sent  out  in  1840, 


THE   MISSIONS   IN    CHINA.  241 

returned  in  1843  for  the  same  reason.  The  next  reinforcements 
were  Rev.  J.  C.  Hepburn,  M.D.,  who  still  continues  in  the  service 
of  the  Board  in  Jai)an,  and  Rev.  Walter  M.  Lowrie,  who  met  his 
death  by  the  hands  of  pirates  in  1847. 

Dr.  Hepburn  and  Mr.  Lowrie  in  1848  transferred  the  mission 
from  Singai)ore  to  China,  and  were  soon  joined  by  Dr.  D.  B. 
McCartee  and  Mr.  Richard  Cole,  who  established  a  most  inii)()rtant 
agency,  the  mission  press.  A  special  appeal  was  now  made  for 
funds,  and  as  a  result  the  church  was  enabled  to  strengthen  the 
mission.  Among  those  sent  out  were  Rev.  Messrs.  R.  Q.  Way,  M. 
S.  Culbertson,  A.  W.  Loomis,  Mr.  M.  S.  Coulter,  and  their  wives, 
Rev.  Messrs.  Brown,  Lloyd,  and  A.  P.  Happer.  Macao,  Amoy, 
and  Ningpo  were  occupied  as  stations. 

Our  missions  in  China  are  three,  viz. : 
I.  Canton  Mission. 
II.  Ningpo  Mission. 
HI.  Shantung  and  Peking  Mission. 

CANTON   MISSION. 

Canton,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Kwantung,  is  located  on 
the  Canton  river,  seventy  miles  from  the  sea.  It  contains  a  pop- 
ulation of  1,000,000.  The  city  was  occupied  as  a  mission  station 
in  1845,  Macao  having  been  the  seat  of  the  mission  for  a  few 
years.  The  first  laborers  were  Rev.  Messrs.  Happer,  Speer,  and 
French.  The  agencies  at  first  employed  were  chapel  preaching, 
distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  teaching  and  ministering  to  the 
sick.  In  1846  a  boarding-school  for  boys  was  established.  A 
dispensary,  opened  in  1851,  was  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Happer 
until  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Kerr,  in  1854. 

The  first  church  was  organized  with  seven  members  in  January, 
1862.  Its  house  of  worship,  first  occupied  in  August,  1874,  is 
located  opposite  the  Chamin  (an  artificial  island  near  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  on  which  foreigners  reside).  The  second 
church,  organized  in  1872,  no^v  occupies  the  Preston  Memorial 
Chapel,  a  building  in  connection  with  the  hospital,  which  was 
dedicated  September  20,  1883.  The  church  at  that  time  called 
Rev.  Kwan  Loy  as  its  pastor.  During  the  preceding  seven  years 
its  membership  had  increased  four-fold  and  its  contributions 
twenty-fold.  The  third  church  was  organized  April  29,  1881,  at 
the  Si  Pai  Lau  Chapel. 

Chapel  services,  with  daily  preaching,  are  maintained  at  six 
different  points  in  the  city.  In  this  work  the  missionaries  are 
assisted  by  native  preachers :  as  a  result,  thousands  hear  the  gos- 
pel every  year. 


242  HISTORICAL   SKKTCII    OF 

Day  Schools. — The  mission  coiulucts  fifteen  such  schools  for 
hoys  (seven  of  them  in  the  city),  with  an  a<;gre>;ate  atten(h\nce  of 
three  hundred  and  fourteen.  There  are  nineteen  schools  for  girls 
(fourteen  in  the  city),  with  an  aggregate  attendance  of  four  hun- 
dred and  eleven.  Improved  conduct  in  a  child  sometimes  calls 
out  the  remark,  "  He  learned  that  in  the  Christian  school."  Rela- 
tives of  the  pupils,  through  the  influence  of  the  school,  are  brought 
to  Christ.     "The  school  is  a  perpetual  sermon." 

The  Canton  Female  Seminary  was  opened  by  Miss  Noyes,  in 
1872,  as  a  boarding-school  for  girls.  Two  departments  have  since 
been  added — a  training-school  for  women  and  a  preparatory 
school  for  younger  girls.  The  course  of  study  is  thorough  —  em- 
bracing the  Chinese  classics  as  well  as  the  liranches  commonly 
taught  in  a  young  ladies'  seminary.  Eacli  i)upil  commits  to 
memory  the  entire  New  Testament.  The  religious  influence  has 
always  been  good.  More  than  one  hundred  from  this  school  have 
united  with  the  church  ;  and  one-half  of  this  number  have  been 
employed  as  Bible-women  and  teachers.  The  attendance  in  1884 
was  eighty  girls  and  thirty-four  women. 

The  Theological  School  embraces  two  departments.  The  pre- 
paratory coui-se  of  study  fits  students  to  teach  in  the  day  schools. 
After  an  interval,  a  course  in  Biblical  and  Systematic  Theology, 
Evidences  of  Christianity,  etc.,  is  taken.  Fifteen  or  twenty  stu- 
dents are  in  attendance  each  year.  This  school  is  training  up  a 
native  ministry,  both  for  the  province  of  Kwantung  and  for  our 
mission  in  California. 

Medical  AVokk. — Dr.  Peter  Parker,  the  founder  of  medical 
missions  in  China,  opened  a  hospital  in  Canton  in  183"),  chiefly 
for  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  eye.  The  expenses  were  met 
by  the  foreign  community,  among  whom  a  medical  missionary 
society  was  organized.  In  1854  the  care  of  the  hospital  was  trans- 
ferred to  Dr.  J.  G.  Kerr,  w'ho  is  supported  by  our  Board,  while 
the  finances  of  the  institution  are  managed  by  the  Canton  Hospi- 
tal Society.  During  the  last  year,  while  the  European  comnui- 
nity  subscribed  $800  towards  the  expenses  of  the  hospital,  the 
natives  »;howed  their  interest  by  giving  $925.  More  than  fifteen 
thousand  j)atients  receive  treatment  each  year.  Branch  dispen- 
saries have  been  established  at  Sz-Ui,  Lien-chow,  Fu-mun  and 
Hainan,  also  one  in  the  western  suburbs  of  Canton.  The  Chinese 
name  for  the  institution  means  "  The  Hospital  of  Broad  and 
Free  Beneficence."  With  the  healing  a  spiritual  gift  has  been 
oflered,  for  the  two-fold  duties  of  the  medical  missionary  have 
been  recognized,  as  expressed  in  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  "  Heal 
the  sick,  and  say  unto  them,  Tho«kingdom  of  God  is  come  unto 
you."     Special  religious  work  has  been  carried  on  by  Rev.  B.  C. 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   CHINA.  243 

Henry,  assisted  by  the  lady  missionaries,  the  native  preachers  and 
Bible-women.  It  Ikvs  consisted  of  a  daily  morning  service  in  the 
hospital  cha])el,  personal  visitation,  and  the  distribution  of  relig- 
ious books  and  tracts.  As  a  result,  many  have  gone  away  with 
favorable  impressions,  and  some  have  ])r()fessed  faith  in  Christ. 

Out-Stations. — Nearly  four  hundred  cities  and  villages  have 
been  visited  by  our  Canton  missionaries,  upwards  of  fifteen  of 
which  have  been  regularly  occupied  as  out-stations.  Among  them 
may  be  mentioned  the  following  :  SanUi,  a  city  of  250,000  inhab- 
itants, eighty  miles  southwest  of  Canton,  occujjied  by  Mr.  Noyes 
in  1872;  church  organized  May  19,  1879.  Chik  Horn,  a  market 
town  twenty  miles  beyond  San  Ui,  Avas  occupied  in  1877  l)y  Mr. 
Noyes.  A  church,  self-supporting  from  the  beginning,  was  organ- 
ized September  30, 1882.  Shek  Lung,  with  a  population  of  100,- 
000,  lies  sixty  miles  east  of  Canton.  At  the  request  of  members 
of  the  Canton  church  residing  here,  Mr.  Henry  opened  a  chapel 
in  1880.  In  March,  1888,  a  church  was  organized,  which  has  a 
native  pastor.  At  lAn  Po,  about  ten  miles  from  Shek  Lung,  pop- 
ulation 15,000,  Mr.  Henry  began  the  work  in  1880.  The  church, 
organized  December  19,  1883,  is  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Sik-kau, 
the  pastor  at  Shek  Lung.  At  the  other  out-stations  the  work  is 
equally  interesting,  though  churches  have  not  yet  been  organized. 
On  the  island  of  Hainan,  Mr.  C.  C.  Jeremiassen,  a  Dane,  who 
had  been  one  of  Dr.  Kerr's  students,  began  in  1881  dispensing 
medicine  and  teaching  the  gospel.  A  chapel  has  been  opened, 
and  a  few  have  confessed  Christ,  There  is  urgent  need  of  rein- 
forcement for  this  hopeful  work.  Kwai  Ping  is  a  city  of  40,000 
inhabitants,  in  the  province  of  Kwong  Sai,  west  of  Canton. 
Rev.  A.  A.  Fulton  visited  this  city  in  1883,  and  leased  property 
for  mission  premises.  In  1885  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Fulton,  J.  G.  Kerr, 
M.  D.,  and  Miss  M.  H.  Fulton,  M.  D.,  removed  to  Kwai  Ping  and 
began  their  work  under  favorable  auspices. 

Summary. — The  Canton  mission  embraces  seven  churches,  with 
a  membership  of  five  hundred  and  ninety -five.  There  are  tAvo 
native  pastors  and  nineteen  native  assistants.  The  total  attend- 
ance in  all  the  schools  is  eight  hundred  and  seventy-nine. 


NINGPO   MISSION. 

Its  five  stations  are  Ningpo,  Shanghai,  Hangchow,  Suchow  and 
Nanking. 

NiNGPO,  one  of  the  five  ports  opened  in  1 842,  is  located  on  the 
Ningpo  river,  twelve  miles  from  the  sea,  and  contains,  with  its 
suburbs,  a  population  of  three  hundred  thousand.     The  beautiful 


244  HISTOKUAL    SKKTtJI    OF 

nu(l  fertik'  i)laiii  stretching  to  the  west  ami  south  of  the  city, 
intersected  in  every  direction  with  canals,  has  been  called  "the 
very  jrarden  of  Ciiina." 

Our  pioneer  missionary  in  Ninirpo  was  D.  B.  McCartce,  M.I)., 
who  arrUed  June  21,  1<S44,  and  before  the  close  of  that  year 
opened  a  disi)ensary  in  a  large  Taoist  temj)le.  He  was  joined 
within  a  few  months  by  Rev.  Messre.  R.  Q.  Way,  M.  8.  Culbert- 
son,  A.  W.  Loomis,  and  their  wives,  and  Rev.  W.  M.  Lowrie.  The 
first  Chinese  convert,  Hung  Apoo,  was  baptized  early  in  1845,  and 
on  the  18th  of  May  a  church  was  organized.  The  chapel  service 
wa.s  conducted  at  first  by  Dr.  McCartee,  as  he  could  speak  the 
Ningpo  dialect  more  fluently  than  his  colleagues.  For  the  early 
history  of  the  Ningpo  mission,  see  The  Foreign  Missionary,  March 
and  June,  1884.  If  the  limits  of  this  brief  sketch  permitted,  it 
would  be  a  pleasure  to  recount  the  labors  of  all  who  gave  them- 
selves to  the  mission  in  its  early  days.  One  of  these  was  the 
Rev.  Wm.  T.  Morrison,  who,  at  the  out-stations  Yu-Yiao  and  8an- 
Foh,  and  afterwards  in  the  boys'  school,  and  as  teacher  of  a  class 
in  Theology,  proved  himself  a  devoted  and  self-sacrificing  mis- 
sionary. 

A  girls'  boarding-school,  opened  in  1846,  is  now  conducted  by 
Mrs.  McKee  and  Miss  AVarner,  and  numbers  about  thirty  i)upils. 
"  The  girls  are  taught  the  common  duties  of  house-keeping  with 
their  other  studies,  and  nmch  attention  is  paid  to  religious  instruc- 
tion." With  few  exceptions,  the  pu])ils  have  been  converted  and 
received  into  the  church  while  members  of  the  school.  They  have 
become  wives  of  native  preachers  or  teachei's,  or  have  themselves 
engaged  in  teaching. 

An  Industrial  School  for  women  was  opened  about  1861  by 
Mrs.  William  T.  Morrison.  That  most  important  department  of 
the  v.ork  is  now  carried  on  by  ^Ii's.  Butler,  who  teaches  Christ  to 
the  forty  women  who  gather. 

The  Boys'  Boarding  School,  organized  early  in  the  history  of 
the  mission,  and  in  which  a  dozen  native  pastors  received  their 
training,  was  in  1877  removed  to  Ilangchow. 

In  the  Day  Schools  one  hundred  and  sixty  pupils  receive  in- 
struction, one-half  of  each  day  being  dovoted  to  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures  and  Christian  books. 

Tlie  Presbyterial  Academy,  opened  February  1,  1881,  is  de- 
signed for  the  sons  of  native  Christians,  and  is  almost  wholly 
supported  by  the  native  churches.  Rev.  Mr.  Yiang,  the  Principal, 
is  "  a  scholarly  and  efficient  instructor,  challenging  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  all  his  brethren  in  the  Presbytery." 

The  young  men  in  the  Theological  Training  Class  receive  in- 
struction   during    four  months  of  the  year  in   Bible  Exegesis, 


THE   MISSIONS   IN  CHINA.  245 

Churcli  History,  Sermonizing,  and  kindred  topics,  and  are  em- 
ployed for  eight  months  in  pructieiil  Christian  work. 

The  field  covered  by  the  Ningpo  station,  two  hundred  miles 
long  and  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  miles  wide,  embraces  a 
])()pulation  of  several  millions.  Among  its  out-stations  are  Yu- 
Yiao,  Tsi-Ong  and  Tong-Yiang.  At  Yu-Yiao  is  a  self-supporting 
church  of  more  than  one  hundred  members. 

Shanghai,  "  the  Liverpool  of  China,"  in  the  province  of  Kiang- 
su,  is  a  city  of  five  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  [including  sub- 
urbs]. Its  European  population  numbers  four  thousand.  Rev. 
Messrs.  M.  S.  Culbertson  and  J.  K.  Wight,  with  their  wives,  were 
transferred  from  Ningpo,  and  began  to  labor  here  in  July,  1850. 
The  first  convert  was  baptized  in  1859,  and  a  native  church 
organized  in  1860.  The  South  Gate  Chapel  is  mentioned  as  a 
"  most  appropriate  and  sensible  place  of  worship " — not  an 
attempt  to  reproduce  a  foreign  style  of  architecture,  but  a 
thoroughly  Chinese  structure. 

The  pupils,  nearly  three  hundred  in  number,  instructed  in  the 
Day  Schools,  carry  home  a  good  influence.  It  is  believed  that  as 
men  and  women  they  will  form  a  more  encouraging  class  of 
hearers  than  those  of  to-day. 

At  the  South  Gate  there  are  two  Boarding  Schools,  one  for 
each  sex.  These  have  long  been  under  the  care  of  Rev.  J.  M. 
W.  Farnham,  D.  D.,  and  his  wife.  The  instruction  is  not  con- 
fined to  books.  The  boys  spend  a  part  of  their  time  in  the 
garden  connected  with  the  mission  premises.  The  girls  are 
taught  the  duties  of  house-keeping  as  well  as  books ;  the  older 
girls  instruct  the  younger.  Among  the  branches  taught  are 
Arithmetic,  Chemistry,  Astronomy,  the  Chinese  Classics,  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity  and  the  Colloquial  New  Testament. 
From  these  schools  many  have  been  brought  into  the  church, 
and  in  them  Christian  laborers  have  been  trained.  The  Girls' 
School  is  now  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  W.  L.  Emens,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  Farnham. 

A  second  church  was  organized  in  1882,  in  connection  with 
the  Press  Buildings.  The  grace  of  liberality  has  been  cultivated. 
The  first  church  supports  its  native  pastor,  a  Bible-woman  and  a 
Day  School,  besides  helping  to  pay  for  the  chapel  at  Soong  Kong. 
The  second  church  supports  its  pastor  in  part. 

At  the  out-stations  there  are  Day  Schools  and  chapel  preaching. 
Twenty-nine  native  helpers  are  constantly  employed,  who  visit 
every  year  thousands  of  families  and  distribute  many  books. 
Mi-s.  Farnham  has  held  meetings  in  the  homes  of  Christian 
women,  corresponding  to  our  cottage  prayer  meetings, "  each  house 
for  the  time  becoming  a  little  chapel,  a  centre  of  light." 


246  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Dispensaries  are  maintained  at  the  South  Gate  and  at  the  out 
station,  Soon<;  Kong. 

An  account  of  the  mission  Press  is  given  on  page  252. 

Hancjchow,  the  ])rovincial  capital  of  Chckiang,  is  156  miles 
northwest  of  Ningpo.  It  has  a  })opulation  of  five  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  is  a  stronghold  of  idolatry.  "  It  was  occupied  as  a 
station  in  1859  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Kevins,  but  he  was  obliged,  as  the 
treaty  did  not  allow  him  to  reside  in  the  interior,  to  return  to 
Ningpo.  His  sojourn  in  Hangchow  bore  fruit  in  the  conversion 
of  a  native  of  Sing-z,  where  we  have  now  an  interesting  native 
church.  A  woman  of  some  property  also  received  the  gospel,  and 
she  was  instrumental  in  commencing  another  church  at  Kao- 
kian."  In  1865  the  city  was  permanently  occujned  by  Rev.  D. 
D.  Green,  who  was  joined  by  Rev.  Samuel  Dodd  and  his  wife. 

The  Boys'  Boarding-school,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Dodd,  a 
"  nursery  of  many  native  helpers,"  was  strengthened  in  1877  by 
the  removal  of  a  similar  school  from  Ningpo.  It  is  now  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  J.  H.  Judson,  and  numbei-s  twenty-nine  pupils. 
Most  of  the  additions  to  the  church  are  from  this  school. 

Itinerating  tours  are  made  by  the  missionaries  and  their  helpers. 
Chapel  preaching  is  maintained  at  the  out-stations,  while  at  three 
of  them  churches  have  been  organized. 

SucHOW,  "the  Paris  of  China,"  is  a  city  of  five  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  seventy  miles  from  Shanghai.  It  is  noted 
for  the  low  state  of  its  morals. 

Mr.  Charles  Schmidt,  a  European,  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Chinese  government  during  the  Taiping  rebellion.  Aiter  its  close 
he  engaged  in  business  but  was  unsuccessful.  In  conversation 
with  Rev.  David  D.  Green,  when  he  said  he  had  been  unfortunate 
in  business  because  of  the  hard  times,  Mr.  Green  asked  if  he  did 
not  think  God  had  something  to  do  with  it.  The  words  brought 
him  silently  to  acknowledge  God,  and  prepared  the  way  for  his 
conversion.  He  had  married  a  Chinese  wife,  and  both  became 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Shanghai.  Supported  in 
part  by  his  own  means,  he  undertook  evangelistic  work  in  Suchow 
in  1868.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  George  F.  Fitch  came  to  his  assistance, 
and  in  1871  a  mission  station  was  formally  established.  Rev.  W. 
S.  Holt  and  wife  arrived  in  1873. 

A  new  cliapel  with  reading  room  attached  was  opened  recently 
in  a  busy  portion  of  the  city.  Itinerating  toui-s  were  made  during 
the  year  1884,  and  fifty  neighboring  towns  and  cities  visited. 
Thougli  the  number  of  Christians  is  still  small,  the  missionaries 
are  encouraged  by  "  the  increase  of  knowledge  among  the  people 
of  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity,  where  no  profession 
as  yet  has  ])ocn  made  of  the  Christian  faith." 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  247 

Nanking,  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  northwest  of 
Shanghai,  on  the  Yang-tse  Kiang,  was  occupied  as  a  mission  sta- 
tion in  1876  by  Rev.  Albert  Whiting  and  Rev.  Charles  Leaman, 
after  a  long  struggle  with  the  mandarins,  who  endeavored  to  inter- 
pret the  treaty  in  such  a  manner  as  to  exclude  missionaries.  Mr. 
Whiting  sacrificed  his  life  in  1878  while  engaged  in  relieving  the 
famine  sufferers  in  Shensi  province. 

The  missionaries  are  assisted  in  their  work  by  elder  Huise,  "the 
faithful  old  Chinese  Christian ";  and  by  a  native  preacher  who 
recently  came  from  Ningpo,  who  was  willing  to  labor  here,  where 
he  Avas  most  needed,  for  a  salary  one-third  less  than  he  had  received 
in  Ningpo. 

A  Girls'  Boarding-school  was  opened  in  1885  by  Mrs.  Leaman, 
assisted  by  a  former  pupil  from  the  Ningpo  school. 

A  new  building  for  school  and  chapel  was  erected  in  1884,  at 
a  cost  of  SI 300. 

Summary. — There  are  in  the  Ningpo  mission  fourteen  churches, 
most  of  them  under  the  care  of  native  pastors.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  communicants  is  seven  hundred  and  ninety-eight.  Besides 
the  churches  there  are  in  the  mission  thirty  chapels  where  the 
gospel  is  preached.  Strangers  in  the  city  passing  the  chapel, 
attracted  by  the  music  or  the  voice  of  the  preacher,  enter  and 
listen,  perhaps  but  for  a  few  moments,  and  in  this  way  the  seed  is 
sown.  The  mission  conducts  six  Boarding-schools,  with  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  pupils,  and  thirty-four  Day  Schools,  with  six 
hundred  and  eighty-two  pupils. 

SHANTUNG   AND   PEKING   MISSION. 

The  five  stations  in  this  mission  are  Tungchow,  Chefoo,  Peking, 
Chenanfoo  and  Wei  Hien. 

Tungchow,  a  city  on  the  Gulf  of  Petchele,  having  a  population 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  is  an  important  literary  centre. 
Rev.  J.  L.  Nevius  and  his  wife  visited  the  province  of  Shantung 
in  1861.  As  the  people  were  kindly  disposed  and  willing  to  listen 
to  the  truth,  Rev.  Messrs.  Gayley  and  Danforth  were  sent  out,  and 
began  their  labor  at  Tungchow.  As  Mr.  Gayley  was  soon  re- 
moved by  death  and  Mr.  Danforth  by  loss  of  health,  the  mission 
was  reinforced  by  Rev.  Charles  H.  Mills  and  his  wife,  transferred 
from  Shanghai.  In  1864  Rev.  C.  W.  Mateer  and  H.  J.  Corbett 
with  their  wives  arrived.  A  native  church  was  organized  in  1862. 
Much  faithful  work  has  been  done  at  the  out-stations  and  in  the 
villages  near  Tungchow.  Woman's  work  has  not  been  neglected  ; 
in  the  extensive  toure  made  by  our  missionaries  many  native 
women  have  received  sympathy  and  instruction. 


248  UISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

A  Boys'  School  was  cstablislied  Feb.  2, 1866,  by  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
Matoer,  with  six  jiupil;*.  At  the  close  of  the  twelfth  year  thirty- 
one  boarders,  and  three  day-scholars  were  reported.  Of  the  thirty- 
one  boarders  twenty-one  were  professed  Christians  and  three  others 
were  baptized  children.  At  this  anniversary  the  name  of  the 
school  was  chani^ed  to  Tnngchow  High  School.  Of  the  oration 
of  Tso  Le  Wnn,  who  took  the  first  honor,  a  member  of  another 
mission  said,  "It  would  have  done  its  author  credit  at  any  com- 
mencement in  America."  Mrs.  Mateer'.s  report  for  1877  says, 
"  These  young  men  have  learned  no  English  and  no  foreign  ways. 
They  have  not  been  lifted  above  their  natural  position,  nor  in  any 
wav  denationalized.  Our  aim  ha.s  been  to  enlighten  and  train 
their  minds,  to  make  them  strong,  manly,  self-reliant  Christian 
Chinamen,  fit  for  the  Master's  use."  Kev.  Dr.  Nevius,  visiting  the 
school  in  1879,  gave  this  report,  "I  was  as  much  pleased  with  the 
earnest  Christian  spirit  which  pervades  the  school  as  with  the  high 
standard  of  scholarsliip  which  has  been  reached  and  the  unusual 
evidence  of  mental  development  and  discipline.  The  chemical, 
philosophical,  and  astronomical  studies  correspond  very  nearly  to  a 
full  college  course.  The  same  may  be  said  of  mechanics  "  The 
Tungchow  High  School  has  been  pronounced  by  good  authority 
"  probably  the  most  thorough  mission  school  proper  in  China." 
It  is  now  "  regularly  organized  as  a  college,  with  a  full  course  of 
study.  Seventy  students  is  the  average  attendance.  The  interest 
of  natives  in  the  college  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  at  a  recent 
commencement  money  for  the  purchase  of  prizes  wa:s  given  by 
the  chief  Chinese  officer  in  Chefoo.  The  religious  tone  of  the 
institution  has  always  been  high.  Nearly  all  the  students  are 
Christians. 

Chefoo  is  an  important  commercial  city,  fifty  miles  south-east 
of  Tungchow,  and  the  chief  foreign  port  of  Shantung  jirovince. 
Dr.  McCartee  occupied  it  as  a  sanitarium  in  1862,  and  in  1865 
Rev.  H.  J.  Corbett  came  from  Tungchow. 

The  Boys'  Boarding-school,  with  its  thirty  pupils,  is  one  of  the 
feeders  of  Tungchow  College.  It  is  a  most  important  agency,  as 
it  leads  the  people  to  associate  Christianity  with  intelligence, 
education  and  progress.  The  work  of  education  is  carried  on  also 
through  a  Girls'  School,  an  Industrial  School  for  children,  and 
numerous  Day  Schools  in  and  about  the  city.  Many  have  been 
received  to  the  church  who  became  interested  in  Christianity 
through  what  they  heard  from  the  children  in  these  schools.  In 
a  Theological  Class  hel])ei's  and  preachers  receive  instruction 
during  tlie  winter  montiis;  while  liible-women,  specially  trained 
for  their  work,  are  constantly  employed  in  teaching  from  house 
to  hou.se. 


THE   MISSIONS    IN   CHINA,  249 

An  agency,  which  has  been  signally  blessed,  is  itineration.  Our 
missionaries  in  Chefoo  have  s})ent  much  of  their  time  making 
tours  through  the  cities  and  villages  of  the  peninsula.  Dr.  Nevius 
has  often  visited  the  fairs,  which  he  says  form  a  striking  feature 
of  the  customs  of  the  whole  north  of  China,  and  where  most  of 
the  buying  and  selling  is  performed.  Here  the  opportunity  is 
presented  of  meeting  people  from  the  surrounding  country  and 
villages.  Literary  graduates,  returning  from  their  public  examina- 
tion, have  sometimes  been  met,  and  have  gladly  received  Christian 
books.  As  a  result  of  this  labor  Mr.  Corbett  and  Dr.  Nevius 
have  nearly  two  thousand  Christians  in  their  pastoral  charge. 
Many,  though  living  at  a  great  distance,  are  members  of  the 
churches  in  Chefoo :  some  are  not  yet  connected  with  a  church. 
Each  station  is  in  charge  of  an  efficient  native,  and  is  visited 
twice  each  year  by  one  of  the  missionaries.  The  missionary 
ladies  have  engaged  in  the  work  of  itineration,  and  have  won 
many  women  to  Christ.  The  Chefoo  field  embraces  a  region  two 
hundred  and  fifty  by  seventy-five  miles  in  extent.  Thirty-five 
places  of  worshij)  are  open — secured  by  the  natives  themselves, 
without  expense  to  the  mission. 

Peking,  the  imperial  capital,  lying  in  the  latitude  of  Phila- 
delphia, embraces  within  its  walls  an  area  of  twenty-seven  square 
miles,  and  has  a  population  of  about  two  millions.  It  consists  of 
three  cities.  The  southern  is  occupied  by  pure  Chinamen,  the 
northern  by  descendants  of  the  Tartars  ;  and  within  this  is  the 
forbidden  or  imperial  city,  surrounded  by  a  high  wall,  and  a 
moat,  forty  feet  wide,  filled  with  water.  As  Peking  is  the  educa- 
tional centre  of  China,  an  opportunity  is  here  presented  to  meet 
and  influence  men  from  every  jmrt  of  the  empire 

Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin  and  his  wife  established  a  mission  here 
in  1863.  In  1869  Dr.  Martin  was  elected  president  of  the  Tung- 
wen  college,  and  resigned  his  connection  with  the  Board.  Chapel 
preaching,  which  is  well  attended  in  Peking,  is  regarded  as  an 
economical  method  of  w^ork,  since  it  reaches  not  only  those  in 
the  neighborhood,  but  many  from  the  country  and  from  other 
cities. 

The  Dispensary  and  Hospital  is  in  charge  of  Dr.  Atterbury, 
who  purchased  the  buildings  for  its  accommodation  at  his  own 
ex])ense.  During  nine  months  of  1884,  Dr.  Atterbury  superin- 
tended the  Hospital  at  Tien-tsin,  under  the  patronage  of  Li  Hung 
Chang. 

The  Girls'  School,  which  has  a  new  building  in  prospect,  has 
been  a  blessing  to  the  mission,  many  of  its  ])upils  becoming 
Christians.     The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Boys'  School. 

In  May,  1885,  it  was  reported  that  through  the  influence  of  a 


250  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Chinese  woman  connected  with  the  family  of  Prince  Kung,  who 
had  l)een  a  constant  visitor  at  the  Mission  House,  the  Princess 
had  become  dee])ly  interested  in  Christianity. 

Chknanfoo,  the  provincial  capital  of  Shantung,  is  situated  on 
the  Hoang  Ho  river,  three  hundred  miles  south  of  Peking,  and 
al)()ut  the  same  distance  west  of  Tungchow.  Rev.  J.  S.  McIIvaine, 
with  a  native  helper,  visited  the  city  in  1H71,  and  was  soon  fol- 
lowed l)y  Rev.  J.  F.  Crossette.  Chapel  jireaching  was  com- 
menced, two  hoys'  schools  were  opened,  and  various  other  agencies 
employed.  At  the  end  of  eight  months,  after  baptizing  three 
converts,  the  mission  was  temporarily  suspended  on  account  of 
the  failure  of  Mr.  Mcllvaine's  health.  Work  was  permanently 
resumed  about  one  year  later.  After  laboring  alone  for  some 
time  ISIr.  McIIvaine  was  joined  in  1875  by  Mr.  Crossette  and  his 
wife.  The  latter  were  compelled  by  ill  health  to  leave  the  mis- 
sion in  1879.  The  former  'died  February  2,  1881.  He  had 
just  secured,  with  great  difficulty,  a  permanent  location  for  a 
chapel.  This  fine  property,  in  a  most  advantageous  part  of  the 
city,  was  ])urchased  for  SoOOO,  of  which  S-OOO  came  from  the 
])rivate  funds  of  Mr.  McIIvaine.  For  nearly  three  years  after 
his  death  the  hostility  of  the  j)eople  interfered  with  the  prosperity 
of  the  mission.  The  difficulties  were  at  last  adjuste(l,  and  the 
work  is  now  prospering.  A  new  street  chapel  was  o})cned  in 
1884.  Sabbath  audiences  are  large;  the  Dispensary  is  crowded 
fr(im  two  o'clock  until  dark  every  day. 

Wki  Hien  is  an  important  city  in  the  interior,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  Tungchow,  the  commercial  centre  of  Shantung.  It 
was  occupied  as  a  mission  station  in  April,  1883,  by  Rev.  Messrs. 
R.  M.  Mateer  and  J.  H.  Laughlin  and  their  wives,  and  Dr.  H.  R. 
Smith.  The  buildings  are  located  just  outside  the  city  walls. 
After  the  lamented  death  of  his  wife  in  July,  1884,  Mr.  Laughlin 
removed  temporarily  to  Chefoo.  In  1885  the  mission  force  con- 
sisted of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mateer  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Mathewson,  who 
reported  the  outlook  as  most  encouraging. 

Summary. — "  The  Shantung  mission,"  says  The  Foreign  Mission- 
ary, "  bids  fair  to  be  one  of  the  most  fruitful  of  all.  Its  popula- 
tion is  of  a  more  stalwart  character  than  that  found  in  the  south. 
The  Shantung  province  has  been  the  source  of  the  chief  intellect- 
ual life  of  China — the  home  of  Confucius,  Lao-tse  and  others."  In 
the  mission  Jioarding  Schools  there  are  two  hundred  and  fifly-one 
[)upils:  in  the  Day  Schools,  three  hundred  and  twenty-seven. 
The  churches  number  two  thousand,  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  mcTnl)ers. 

The  work  of  our  three  missions  in  China  is  carried  on  at  eleven 
central  stations  and  many  out-stations.      The  force  consists  of 


THE  MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  251 

thirty-three  American  ordained  missionaries ;  thirteen  ordained 
natives,  and  fifteen  licentiates ;  forty-eight  American  hiy  mission- 
aries (of  whom  forty-four  are  women  ;  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  native  assistants.  The  churches  numbered  at  the  beginning 
of  1885,  three  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven  com- 
municants ;  the  schools  two  thousand,  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  pupils. 

V. — The  Agencies  Employed. 

(1)  Preaching. — The  great  work  of  the  missionary  is  to  make 
the  people  of  China  acquainted  with  God's  Word  through  preach- 
ing. The  methods,  however,  must  be  accommodated  to  the  cir- 
cumstances. While  services  for  Christians  are  similar  to  those 
held  in  our  churches  at  home,  for  the  uninstructed  a  somewhat 
different  method  is  adopted.  The  Chinese  know  little  about 
remaining  quietly  in  a  public  assembly,  so  that  an  audience  is 
constantly  changing,  and  a  formal  discourse  is  not  always  profit- 
able. Hence  the  conversational  kiang-^hu,  "  explain  the  book," 
often  takes  the  place  of  the  sermon.  Says  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams, 
"  An  acquaintance  with  native  habits  of  thought,  religious  ideas 
and  prejudices  ;  wide  familiarity  with  their  books,  so  as  to  make 
apt  quotations ;  wise  facility  and  appropriateness  in  illustrating 
truth,  joined  ^\^th  an  earnest  love  for  souls ; — all  these  combined 
render  the  preacher  efiicient  and  his  message  understood." 

(2)  Itineration,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made,  has 
become  an  important  feature  of  the  work.  A  supply  of  books  is 
usually  taken ;  and  as  much  of  the  travel  is  by  canal,  the  mission- 
ary boat  becomes  an  itinerating  bookstore.  The  missionary  is 
often  accompanied  on  these  tours  by  his  wife,  who  visits  from 
house  to  house  and  gives  personal  instruction,  or  gathers  the 
women  who  are  ready  to  listen  to  the  gospel.  By  this  method 
both  the  written  and  spoken  word  are  carried  to  great  multitudes 
who  would  not  otherwise  be  reached,  and  the  way  is  prepared  for 
establishing  new  stations  and  out-stations. 

(3)  Education. — The  value  of  education  as  a  missionary  agency 
can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  Dr.  Nevius  once  said  of  the 
schools  at  Ningpo  that  while  they  had  received  less  than  one- 
fourth  of  the  time  and  labor  of  the  missionary  force,  they  had, 
during  the  early  history  of  our  Church  there,  furnished  more 
than  one-half  its  merabei-s.  He  believes  the  experience  of  the 
past  to  teach  that  they  are  "  among  the  cheapest  and  most 
efficient  missionary  agencies  that  can  be  employed  in  China." 

At  the  Shanghai  Conference,  in  1877,  the  following  reasons 
were  given  in  favor  of  missionary  control  of  the  common  schools : 


252  HISTORICAL   .SKETCH    OF 

"1.  They  tiike  hold  of  one  of  the  great  means  used  for 
stren<;tljening  heathenism,  and  use  it  for  in)])hinting  and  strength- 
ening Christianity. 

"  2.  They  are  one  of  the  best  means  for  reaching  the  young  of 
heatlien  families  and  grounding  them  in  Christian  truth. 

".'}.  They  are  an  efKcient  means  of  reaching  the  families,  and 
es|)ecially  the  women. 

'•  4.  They  are  a  means  of  training  up  men  for  liigher  spheres 
of  labor. 

"  5.  They  form  a  centre  from  which  to  work,  and  are  sources  of 
light  to  the  districts  in  which  they  are  placed. 

"  6.  They  are  a  source  from  which  to  draw  better  material  for 
training  and  boarding-schools." 

Day  Schools  are  maintained  at  all  our  mission  stations, 
and  inthem  more  than  seventeen  hundred  pupils  receive  instruc- 
tion. 

In  the  Boarding-Schools,  and  schools  of  a  higher  grade, 
like  the  Canton  Female  Seminary,  the  Tungchow  college  and 
the  Ningpo  Prcsbyterial  Academy,  there  are  more  than  five 
hundred  puj)ils. 

Theological  schools  and  classes  are  conducted  at  Canton, 
Chefoo,  Tungchow  and  Ningpo. 

(4)  TJie  Mission  Press. — One  of  the  most  efficient  agencies 
cmydoyed  in  China  is  the  mission  press. 

Kev.  Richard  Cole  arrived  at  Macao  with  an  outfit  February 
23, 1844,  accom})ained  by  a  young  Chinaman  who  in  America  had 
learned  something  of  the  ])rinter'.s  trade.  The  first  work  under- 
taken was  an  edition  of  the  ICpistle  to  the  Ephesians;  this  was 
followed  by  an  edition  of  the  Gnspel  of  Luke.  In  June,  1845, 
Mr.  Cole  removed  the  press  to  Ning|)0.  From  1849  until  his 
death,  in  1852,  it  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  M.  S.  Coulter,  who  had 
been  sent  out  by  the  Board  for  this  purpose  while  continuing  his 
studies  for  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

The  use  of  separate  characters  instead  of  cut  blocks  was  begun 
in  1856.  A  Frenchman  had  conceived  the  idea  of  separating  the 
complex  ('hinese  character  into  its  simple  elements,  so  that  a  few 
elemental  types  might  be  variously  combined  to  form  many  differ- 
ent characters.  When  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was 
needed  to  secure  the  manufacture  of  matrices  for  the  type,  King 
Louis  Philippe  and  the  British  Museum  gave  five  thousand  dollars 
each,  and  the  remaining  five  thousand  was  contributed  by  the 
Presb}'terian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  After  this  step  in  ad- 
vance was  taken,  a  type  foundry  and  electrotyj)ing  department 
were  added  to  the  institution.  As  Shanghai  was  thought  to  pos- 
sess superior  advantages  as  a  commercial  centre,  the  press  was 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  253 

removed  to  that  place  in  December,  1860,  by  Mr.  William  Gam- 
ble, who  retained  the  superintendency  until  1869. 

The  temporary  management  was  committed  successively  to  Rev. 
John  Wherry  and  Rev.  C.  W.  Mateer,  until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  J. 
L.  Mateer,  in  1872.  In  1875  the  premises  were  sold  and  more 
suitable  property,  in  a  central  location,  was  purchased.  The  press 
is  now  "  thoroughly  provided  with  every  facility  and  capability  for 
printing  the  sacred  Scriptures  and  Christian  books."  It  is  de- 
scribed as  "  a  printing-office,  a  type  foundry  which  furnishes  type 
for  China,  Japan,  England  and  America,  electrotyping  and  stereo- 
typing rooms,  and  a  book  bindery."  With  eight  presses  con- 
stantly running,  and  about  seventy-five  men  employed,  it  is  believed 
to  be  the  largest  establishment  of  its  kind  in  Asia.  About  thirty- 
five  million  pages  are  printed  every  year.  A  part  of  this  is  called 
job  printing — not  business  printing,  but  the  making  of  dictionaries, 
religious  and  scientific  works,  and  religious  books  for  other  mis- 
sions. In  1872  a  Japanese-English  dictionary  by  S.  Hori  was 
issued  ;  also  the  revised  edition  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn's  dictionary ; 
in  1873  an  electrotyped  edition  of  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams'  Chinese- 
English  dictionary. 

In  1876  the  press  not  only  paid  its  way  but  brought  a  surplus 
into  the  treasury.  In  1879  it  supplied  our  mission  with  books  to 
the  amount  of  $896.67  without  any  expense  to  the  Board,  and 
paid  into  the  general  treasury  about  88000  of  its  surplus  earnings. 
The  report  of  1881  says,  "Although  $1632  has  been  written  off 
for  depreciation,  yet  aside  from  this  the  books  show  a  net  profit 
of  $3256.66.  Of  this  amount  $3000  will  be  paid  into  the  mis- 
mission  treasury  to  aid  in  the  regular  work  of  the  mission."  Rev. 
W.  S.  Holt  who  had  been  Superintendent  for  several  years,  retiring 
from  the  office  in  1884,  reported  for  that  year  $6000  paid  into  the 
mission  treasury. 

Some  of  the  workmen  employed  are  Christians.  "  Every  morn- 
ing the  workmen  gather  in  a  chapel  at  the  rear  of  the  main  build- 
ing, where  a  native  teacher  reads  from  the  Scriptures  and  leads 
in  singing  and  prayer." 

As  one  influence  of  the  press,  the  Chinese  are  beginning  to 
throw  aside  their  cumbrous  system  of  block  printing  and  adopt 
our  methods. 

By  means  of  the  press  it  has  been  possible  to  circulate  a  Chris- 
tian literature.  Besides  various  editions  of  the  Scriptures  and 
Christian  tracts,  there  have  been  published  commentaries,  works 
on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  and  books  giving  instruction  in 
all  the  Christian  graces  and  virtues.  The  influence  of  this  has 
been  to  break  down  the  prejudice  of  the  Chinese,  since  the  new 
religion  is  brought  to  them  in  their  own  language.     Rev.  J.  S. 

11* 


254  UISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

McIlvaiiR',  ill  a  letter  Avritten  eleven  days  before  his  death,  after 
relatintr  li<»\\  an  oiiiuin  smoker  read  the  New  Te.staiiieiit  by  the 
dim  li<:ht  of  his  opium  laiii]),  ami  w  ept  over  the  sutlerings  of  Jesus, 
says,  "  We  cannot  know  all  that  results  from  the  distribution  of 
Christian  literature.  The  fertilization  of  that  scattered  seed  should 
be  set  before  the  home  Church  as  a  topic  of  prayer." 

('))  Medical  Missions. —  Medical  missions,  working  chieHy 
through  dispensaries  and  hospitals,  have  been  abundantly  blessed. 
"  Tliere  seems  to  be  no  work,"  says  a  missionary,  "  that  is  telling 
more  now  for  the  advancement  of  the  good  cause  than  the  medical 
work." 

Through  this  agency  the  way  has  been  opened  for  direct  evan- 
gelistic work  by  removing  prejudice  and  ill-will.  It  is  just  as 
true  in  China  as  in  America  that  the  direct  way  to  the  head  lies 
through  the  heart.  The  heart  nmst  be  reached  before  the  under- 
standing can  be  convinced.  Kev.  Hunter  Corbett  once  wrote, 
"In  connection  with  our  mission  in  the  south,  every  attempt  to 
get  a  hold  on  a  new  city  failed  until  our  medical  missionaries  first 
won  the  confidence  of  the  people  by  healing."  Dr.  Nevius  was 
attempting  to  establish  a  station  at  Hangchow.  The  people 
regarded  him  with  suspicion,  but  two  men  were  cordial  and 
respectful.  One  had  been  treated  by  Dr.  Lockhart  in  the  hos])ital 
in  Shanghai,  the  other  by  Dr.  McCartee  in  Js'ingpo,  and  both 
testified  that  in  hospital  they  were  taught  the  same  doctrines  Dr. 
Nevius  was  then  preaching.  Direct  evangelistic  work  has  not 
been  neglected  by  our  medical  missionaries.  All  who  receive 
bodily  healing  learn  also  of  the  Great  Physician. 

Prejudice  has  been  disarmed  by  convincing  the  Chinese  that 
we  surpass  them  in  a  knowledge  of  medical  science.  The  Chinese 
medical  profession  stands  in  great  need  of  enlightenment.  Most 
native  physicians,  being  ignorant  of  physiology  and  anatomy,  are 
unable  intelligently  to  practice  either  the  healing  art  or  surgery. 
They  believe,  e.  (/.,  that  there  are  five  simple  elements — metal, 
wood,  water,  fire,  earth.  "  These  five  elements  lie  at  the  basis  of 
medicine.  It  is  suj)posed  that  they  have  some  mysterious  connec- 
tion with  and  relation  to  the  difierent  jiarts  of  the  body  ;  such 
as  the  heart,  the  lungs,  etc.  If  a  disease  is  found  to  be  in  a  part 
or  organ  of  the  body  connected  with  the  class  metal,  then  the 
medicine  must  be  drawn  from  the  mineral  kingdom  ;  if  in  a  part 
connected  with  the  class  wood,  it  must  be  drawn  from  the  vegeta- 
ble kingdom,  etc." 

The  hosjjital  at  C-anton  has  already  been  briefly  described.  A 
few  Chinese  women  have  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  medicine 
under  Dr.  Kerr,  some  of  whom  have  just  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  their  profession.  It  is  said  that  this  new  departure  impresses 
their  countrymen  favorably. 


THE    MISSIONS   IN    CHINA.  255 

Our  medical  missionary  force,  which  is  inadequate  to  the  de- 
mands, consists  of  J.  G.  Kerr,  M.  D.,  Rev.  J.  C.  Thompson,  M.  D., 
Miss  Mary  E.  Niles,  M.  D.,  and  Miss  Mary  H.  Fulton,  M.  D., 
H.  M.  McCandliss,  M.  D.,  and  J.  M.  Swan,  M.  D.,  in  the  Canton 
Mission ;  J.  B.  Neal,  M.  D.,  Tungchow  ;  Rev.  S.  H.  Hunter, 
M.  D.,  and  R.  Coltman,  Jr.,  M.  l).,  Chenanfoo ;  B.  C.  Atter- 
bury,  M.  D.,  Peking ;  J.  M.  Matthewson,  M.  D.,  Wei  Hcin. 

VI. — The  Obstacles. 

Those  most  often  referred  to  by  our  missionaries  may  be  briefly 
stated  as  follows: 

1.  Ancestral  worship.  The  Chinese  look  upon  it  as  one  of  the 
requirements  of  filial  piety.  According  to  Rev.  John  Butler,  it 
is  the  greatest  obstacle.  "  It  has  entered  into  the  very  bones  and 
marrow  of  the  people.  It  is  remarkably  suited  to  corrupt  human 
nature.  Free  from  gross  and  vulgar  rites,  sanctioned  by  Confu- 
cius, it  wields  a  power  it  is  impossible  to  compute." 

2.  The  lack  of  suitable  words  in  the  language  to  express  reli- 
gious ideas.  Many  of  the  words  that  must  be  employed  have 
heathen  associations  connected  with  them,  and  are  to  a  great  ex- 
tent misleading. 

3.  Society  is  not  adjusted  to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
Many  possible- converts  stumble  at  this  requirement,  and  advance 
no  further.  The  case  is  said  to  be  much  the  same  as  if  a  clerk  in 
one  of  our  cities  should  be  absent  from  his  work  every  Wednes- 
day.    He  would  expect  to  lose  his  position. 

4.  The  pride  and  self-sufficiency  of  the  Chinese.  A  firm  belief 
in  the  superiority  of  their  own  institutions. 

5.  The  fact  that  Christianity  is  a  foreign  doctrine,  and  is  pre- 
sented by  foreigners.  When  a  great  company  of  Chinese  laborers 
has  been  raised  up,  when  Christianity  has  lost  its  foreign  type, 
when  the  native  churches  not  only  support  themselves  but  give 
liberally  to  evangelize  the  rest  of  China,  more  rapid  progress 
may  be  expected. 

6.  The  degrading  superstitions  of  the  people. 

7.  The  non-Christian  conduct  of  foreigners  residing  in  China. 

8.  The  treatment  of  the  Chinese  by  foreign  nations :  (a)  They 
have  been  persecuted  in  the  United  States ;  ( b)  Opium  has  been 
forced  upon  them  by  England,  a  professedly  Christian  nation. 
"  Surely  it  is  impossible,"  said  a  Chinaman,  "  that  men  who  bring 
in  this  infatuating  poison  .  .  .  can  either  wish  me  well  or  do  me 
good." 

9.  The  degrading  and  demoralizing  effects  of  the  use  of  opium. 
**  It  is  rapidly  effecting  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  deteriora- 


256  HISTOKICAL   SKETCH    OF 

tion  of  the  iijition.  It  threatens  to  transmute  the  most  industrious 
jH-'ople  in  the  worhl  into  a  nation  of  helplass  idlers.  The  poison 
is  destroying  the  very  vitals  of  the  nation." 

10.  A  national  contempt  for  the  education  of  women. 

11.  The  inhuman  custom  of  foot-binding,  which  Christianity 
cannot  tolerate.  Chinese  mothers  would  rather  secure  small  feet 
for  their  daughters  than  allow  them  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a 
Christian  education. 

VII. — Encouragements. 

Among  the  encouragements  may  be  mentioned  the  following: 

1.  The  religions  of  China  do  not  appeal  to  the  affections, 
with  the  exception  that  Confucianism  makes  a  great  deal  of  the 
worship  of  ancestors.  At  heart  the  people  care  little  for  their 
idols.  They  need  Christianity,  though  so  few  of  them  seem  to 
desire  it. 

2.  Prejudice  is  giving  way  as  the  Chinese  learn  more  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Bible  and  the  character  of  the  missionaries.  A 
most  favorable  impression  was  made  upon  the  minds  of  natives 
during  the  late  famine  by  the  self-denying  labors  of  men  like  the 
late  Kev.  Albert  Whiting.  A  native,  writing  for  a  Shanghai 
paper,  said  of  this,  "  Let  us,  then,  cherish  a  grateful  admiration 
for  the  charity  and  wide  benevolence  of  the  missionary  whose  sac- 
rifice of  self  and  love  toward  mankind  can  be  carried  out  with 
earnestness  like  this.  Let  us  applaud  too  the  mysterious  efficacy 
and  activity  of  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  of  which  we  have  these 
proofs."  Mr.  Li  Hung  Chang,  the  viceroy  mentioned  above, 
whose  influence  is  probably  greater  than  that  of  any  other  official 
in  China,  gave  similar  testimony  in  the  following  language :  "  The 
religion  of  Jesus  must  exert  a  powerful  influence  on  the  hearts  of 
its  followers,  when  it  led  them  to  give  even  their  lives  in  endeavor- 
ing to  save  the  people  of  China." 

8.  Converts  are  multiplying  from  the  higher  classes. 

4.  The  large  increase  in  the  number  of  converts. 

5.  The  general  influence  of  Christianity  upon  the  Chinese,  as 
seen  in  the  improvement  of  morals  and  the  weakening  of  faith  in 
their  own  systems  of  religion. 

6.  The  character  of  converts  to  the  gospel. 

In  answer  to  the  question.  What  kind  of  Christians  are  found 
among  the  Chinese?  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  studied 
Chinese  life  and  character  may  be  given.  Dr.  Nevius  says,  "  Their 
lives  are  often  marked  by  a  beautiful,  unquestioning  faith.  There 
are  few  doubting  Christians:  they  have  not  yet  reached  the  point 
of  skeptical  misgivings.    Their  prayers  have  often  a  practical  and 


THE  MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  257 

cliildlike  simplicity,"  The  testimony  of  another  is,  "  When  the 
religion  of  Christ  really  gets  hold  of  some  of  them  they  become 
wonderfully  transformed.  The  stolid  apathy  is  exchanged  for  an 
earnestness  and  enthusiasm  that  one  hardly  deemed  possible  for 
them ;  and  they  do  things  that  one  only  looked  for  as  the  result 
of  long  training  in  Christianity."  Dr.  Happersays  that  some  of 
the  converts  to  the  gospel  in  China  have  witnessed  to  the  sincerity 
of  their  profession  by  enduring  scourgings,  stonings,  stripes  and 
imprisonments  for  the  gospel,  and  in  some  cases  have  sealed  their 
testimony  with  their  blood.  Rev.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson,  secretary 
of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  mission,  after  a  tour  of  observation  round 
the  world,  reported,  "  I  have  found  nowhere  in  Christian  lands 
men  and  women  of  a  higher  type  than  I  met  in  China — of  a  finer 
spiritual  experience,  of  a  higher  spiritual  tone  or  a  nobler  spiritual 
life  ;"  and  he  adds,  "  I  came  away  with  the  conviction  that  there 
are  in  the  native  churches  in  China  not  only  the  elements  of  sta- 
bility, but  of  that  steadfast  and  irresistible  revolution  which  will 
carry  over  the  whole  empire  to  the  new  faith."  Rev.  George  F. 
Fitch  relates  the  following  of  a  native  Christian  whom  he  knew. 
The  man  was  a  master  mason  of  Ningpo,  but  engaged  in  his  work 
in  the  city  of  Suchow.  Every  morning  he  assembled  his  men  for 
prayers,  though  they  were  all  heathen.  Before  leaving  Suchow 
he  gave  ten  dollars  to  the  mission  school.  On  the  return  he  was 
robbed  of  forty  dollars  and  his  watch.  After  reaching  his  home 
he  wrote  the  missionary  a  letter  saying,  "  While  in  your  city  it 
was  in  my  heart  to  give  more  than  I  did  for  your  school,  but  I 
came  aAvay  and  carelessly  neglected  it.  On  the  way  home  the 
Lord  rebuked  me.  I  now  send  you  my  check  for  forty  dollars." 
Dr.  Williams  says  it  is  not  known  that  any  member  of  the  Yesu 
Kiao  has  ever  been  condemned  before  the  courts  for  any  crime. 
According  to  one  of  the  reports,  a  distance  of  fifteen  li  (five  miles) 
is  not  considered  a  sufficient  obstacle  to  prevent  them  from  attend- 
ing divine  service.  The  following  instance  of  love  for  the  Bible 
is  given :  A  woman  who  had  become  a  Christian  was  intently  read- 
ing one  of  Paul's  epistles  during  the  intervals  of  her  work.  Some 
one  who  observed  this  asked,  "What  would  you  sell  your  Bible 
for?"  and  she  quickly  replied,  "Other  things  have  their  price, 
but  the  things  taught  here  are  beyond  all  price." 

Chinese  Christians  exhibit  strength  and  nobility  of  character. 
They  love  Christian  work,  and  are  eflicient  in  doing  it.  They  not 
only  aim  at  self-support,  but  when  that  is  attained  are  ready  to 
help  send  the  gospel  to  others. 

Christianity  has  gained  entrance  into  China.  Neander,  in  1850, 
said  this  would  be  "  a  great  step  toward  the  Christianizing  of  our 
planet."     More  than  one  step  has  been  taken.     Converts  are 


258  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

rapidly  nuiltiplyintr ;  they  now  number  [January,  1886],  twenty- 
six  thousand.  I'ropliecy  is  being  f'ultilleil.  Among  the  countless 
multitude  of  those  who  sing  the  new  song  because  redeemed  to 
(Jod  by  the  blood  of  Christ  out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  and 
])eo])le  and  nation,  "behold  these  shall  come  from  far;  and,  lo, 
these  from  the  north  and  from  the  Avest ;  and  these  from  the 

LAND   OF   8INIM." 


MISSIONARY  LABORERS,  1886. 

Canton:  Rev.  Messrs.  A.  P.  Happer,  D.  D.,  Henry  V.  Noyes, 
B.  C.  Henry,  Wellington  White,  A.  A.  Fulton,  J.  C.  Thompson, 
M.  D.,  J.  M.  Swan,  M.I).,  and  their  wives;  Rev.  O.  S.  Wisncr, 
J.  G.  Kerr,  M. D,  and  H.  M.  McCandliss,  M.I).,  Miss  Ilattie 
Noyes,  Miss  Alverda  Happer,  Miss  Electa  M.  Butler,  Miss  Mary 
A.'Niles,  M.  D.,  Miss  Hattie  Lewis,  Miss  M.  A.  Baird,  Miss 
Mary  H.  Fulton,  M.  D.,  and  Miss  Jessie  Wisuer ;  2  native 
pastors,  39  teachers,  18  Bible-women. 

Shanghai:  Rev.  J.  M.  W.  Farnham,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  J.  N. 
B.  Smith,  and  tlieir  wives;  2  native  i)astors,  2  native  licentiates, 
21  teachers,  and  1  Bible-woman. 

NiNGPO :  Rev.  Wni.  J.  McKee  and  his  wife ;  Mrs.  John  But- 
ler and  Miss  Sarah  O.  Warner;  6  native  pastors,  11  native 
licentiates,  oo  native  assistants. 

Han(;ciiow:  Rev.  Messrs.  J.  H.  Judson  and  Frank  V.  Mills, 
and  their  wives ;  2  native  pastors,  2  evangelists,  3  teachers. 

SucHOW  :  Rev.  Messrs.  Geo.  S.  Fitch  and  J.  H.  Haynes,  and 
their  wives ;  5  assistants. 

Nanking  :  Rev.  Messrs.  Charles  Leaman  and  R.  E.  Abbey, 
and  their  wives ;  3  native  helpers  and  teachei-s. 

TuNGCHOW :  Rev.  Messrs.  C.  W.  Mateer,  D.  D.,  Charles  R. 
Mills,  I)D.,  and  W.  M.  Hayes,  and  their  wives ;  J.  B.  Neal,  M.  D., 
and  his  wife,  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Shaw;  1  native  pastor,  4  evangelists 
and  8  helj)ers. 

Chefoo:  Rev.  Messrs.  J.  L.  Nevius,  D.  D.,  Hunter  Corbett, 
and  J.  A.  Leyenberger,  and  their  wives ;  Rev.  Gilbert  Reid  ; 
Miss  Jennie  Anderson  ;    1  licentiate,  24  helpers,  3  Bible-women. 

Peking:  Rev.  Messrs.  J.  L.  Whiting,  John  Wherry,  and 
Daniel  McCoy,  and  their  wives;  B.  C.  Atterbury,  M.  I).,  Rev. 


THE   MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  259 

J.  Walter  Lowrie,  Mrs.  Reuben  Lowrie,  Miss  Mary  A.  Lowrie ; 
1  licentiate  and  4  helpers. 

Chenanfoo:  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Murray,  S.  H.  Hunter,  M.  D., 
and  Paul  D.  Berger,  and  their  wives ;  Rev.  William  P.  Chalfant; 
6  helpers. 

Wei  Hien:  Rev.  R.  M.  Mateer  and  wife,  Rev.  J.  H.  Laugh- 
lin,  J.  M.  Mathewson,  M.  D. 


WORK  AMONG  THE  CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Prof.  Austin  Phelps  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  If  I  were  a  for- 
eign missionary  in  Canton,  my  first  and  most  importunate  prayer 
every  morning  would  be  for  home  missions  in  America  for  the 
sake  of  Canton." 

If  home  missionary  effort,  in  quickening  the  spiritual  life  of  a 
Christian  nation,  is  to  bless  Canton,  surely  Canton  may  expect 
an  especial  blessing  as  the  result  of  home  foreign  work  among 
the  Chinese  in  America. 

They  began  to  come  in  1848.  They  are  all  from  Kwang- 
tung  province,  and  speak  the  Cantonese  dialect.  The  majority 
are  young  men,  the  average  age  being  about  twenty-five  years, 
while  many  are  boys  from  twelve  to  fifteen.  They  are  not  immi- 
grants ;  they  do  not  come  here  for  permanent  residence.  Retain- 
ing their  own  habits  and  customs  and  their  love  for  China,  they 
do  not  assimilate  with  Americans,  but  are  strangers  in  a  strange 
land.  Their  single  purpose  in  coming  is  to  sell  their  labor  for 
money.  Not  only  do  they  expect  to  return:  the  companies  that 
bring  them  are  bound  by  contract  to  carry  back  their  bodies  if 
they  die  here.  The  average  time  that  they  actually  remain  is 
less  than  five  years.  Coming  from  the  middle  class  of  Chinese 
society,  they  are  as  a  rule  peaceable  and  industrious,  while  many 
exhibit  enterprise  and  energy. 

The  Chinese  Restriction  Law  was  passed  by  Congress,  May  6, 
1882,  and  amended  July  5,  1884.  As  a  result  there  have  been 
three  times  as  many  departures  as  arrivals,  and  our  Chinese 
population,  more  than  one  hundred  thousaud  in  1880,  is  gradually 
decreasing. 

San  Francisco. — The  first  efibrt  to  evangelize  these,  our 
home  heathen,  was  made  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1852, 
when  Rev.  Wm.  Speer,  D.  D.,  who  had  been  connected  with  the 


2GU  IILSTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

Canton  mission,  wiis  commissioned  for  this  work.  A  few  were 
found  in  San  Francisco  who  had  been  instructed  in  mission 
scliools  in  Canton.  As  some  of  these  had  renounced  idolatry 
before  leaving  home,  a  church  was  organized  in  185.S.  Dr. 
Speer,  who  was  compelled  by  ill-health  to  leave  the  mission  in 
1857,  was  succeeded  in  1859  by  Rev.  A.  W.  Loomis,  D.  D.,  and 
his  wife,  who  had  been  tifteen  years  in  China.  In  1870  the  mis- 
sion was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  I.  M.  Coudit,  also 
from  Canton. 

Although  the  Chinese  pay  $150,000  for  taxes  in  San  Francisco, 
their  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  children  have  not  enjoyed  the 
privileges  of  the  free  schools.  In  April,  1885,  however,  a  new 
measure  was  adopted  as  an  experiment,  separate  rooms  with 
special  teachers  being  provided  for  Chinese  children.  In  mission 
work,  education  has  l)een  one  of  the  first  agencies  to  be  employed. 
Some  of  the  Chinese  desire  to  learn  p]nglish.  These  can  be 
reached  "  by  baiting  the  gospel  hook  with  the  English  alphabet." 
Evening  schools  are  held  at  the  mission  house,  800  Stockton 
street,  with  an  average  attendance  of  about  one  hundred.  Arith- 
metic, geography,  grammar,  and  history,  are  among  the  branches 
taught.  The  different  departments  at  the  close  of  each  session 
assemble  in  the  chapel  for  religious  instruction,  prayer,  and  song. 
In  these  schools  "  Christianity  is  taught  directly  or  indirectly 
all  the  time ;  and  we  are  cheered  by  seeing  the  greater  portion  of 
our  scholars  losing  their  respect  for  idols,  many  openly  avowing 
their  disbelief  in  the  superstitions  of  their  countrymen,  and  some 
becoming  the  true  followers  of  Jesus." 

In  the  Occidental  School,  established  in  1878,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pupils  have  received  instruction  in  English  as  well  as 
Chinese.  These  range  in  age  from  four  to  sixteen  yeare,  and 
are  in  charge  of  Miss  M.  M.  Baskin.  Chinese  merchants 
appreciate  the  benefits  of  the  school  and  have  contributed 
to  its  support.  Three  in  the  advanced  class  expect  to  become 
missionaries. 

Chapel  services,  held  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on  Wednesday 
evening,  consist  of  reading  and  expounding  the  Scriptures, 
l)reaching,  prayer,  and  singing.  The  evening  congregation  con- 
sists largely  of  men,  and  Ls  followed  by  a  special  service  for  young 
men.  At  the  morning  service  the  inmates  of  the  Home  and 
some  other  Chinese  women  are  present.  The  monthly  concert 
ihr  missions  is  regularly  observed  on  the  first  Sabbath  evening  of 
each  month,  and  an  offering  is  made.  Says  Dr.  Loomis,  "Always 
at  Sabbath  worship  and  at  the  prayer-meetings,  when  the  Scrip- 
tures are  read,  every  person  present  has  a  copy  in  his  hands,  and 
all  closely  follow  the  reader;  and  as  the  preaching  is  largely 


THK   MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  261 

expository,  we  expect  all  to  keep  their  Bibles  open  before  them 
durinjf  the  (liscoiiJ>c!." 

In  1882,  the  building  formerly  occupied  by  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  was  purchased  for  the  mission,  and  November  11), 
the  Chinese  congregation  worshipped  here  for  the  first  time. 

The  gospel  is  carried  to  the  })eople.  The  missionaries  and 
their  assistants  itinerate  through  the  city  and  suburbs,  preaching 
on  the  streets,  in  shops,  eating-houses,  and  lodging-houses.  A 
favorable  time  for  this  work  is  Sabbath  morning,  when  so  many 
aro  at  leisure.  The  Chinese  seem  to  appreciate  the  eftbrts  of  men 
who  can  s])eak  their  language,  and  wish  to  do  them  good.  They 
often  invite  the  missionary  to  come  in  and  hong  Jenu  (preach 
Jesus).  The  effort  is  made  to  visit  all  new-comers  as  soon  as 
they  arrive.  This  work  is  followed  up  by  itinerating  through 
the  towns  and  villages  of  the  interior.  Many  are  found  who 
remember  the  kind  word  thus  spoken — in  whose  minds  seeds  of 
truth  were  sown.  Training  colporteurs  and  assistants,  and  direct- 
ing their  labors,  constitute  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of  our 
missionaries. 

The  proportion  of  women  among  the  Chinese  in  this  country 
is  estimated  at  about  one  in  thirty.  Many  of  them  are  of  the 
abandoned  class,  and  are  brought  here  for  a  base  purpose.  Efforts 
for  their  rescue  and  salvation,  made  by  the  Woman's  Missionary 
Societies,  culminated  in  the  foundation  in  1873  of  the  Chinese 
Woman's  Home.  The  care  of  this  institution  was  committed 
to  Miss  Cjimmings.  In  1875  Miss  H.  N.  Phillips,  transferred 
from  the  Chippewa  mission,  became  associated  with  her  as 
matron.  Mrs.  Preston,  from  Canton,  who  assumed  charge  of 
the  Home  in  1878,  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Maggie  Culbertson. 
One  of  the  assistants  is  Hooramah,  a  Persian  who  was  con- 
verted at  Oroomiah.  The  Home  is  a  place  where  Chinese 
women  who  are  susceptible  to  kindly  influence  and  desire 
to  change  their  life  may  be  invited.  Many  young  girls  have 
been  rescued  from  bondage  by  the  "  Humane  Society,"  whose 
secretary  obtains  letters  of  guardianship  for  the  Home.  The 
work  of  the  household  is  performed  by  the  inmates.  Two  daily 
sessions  of  the  scliool  are  held,  and  religious  instruction  is  regu- 
larly given  both  to  the  inmates  and  to  women  gathered  from 
outside.  Classes  are  taught  in  needlework  ;  and  some  of  the  in- 
mates, by  seAving  for  Chinese  stores,  earn  a  little  money,  which  is 
placed  to  their  credit  and  expended  in  supplying  their  wardrobe. 
By  this  means  habits  of  industry  are  formed,  and  a  feeling  of  self- 
respect  is  created.  The  objects  of  the  Home  were  thus  stated  in 
a  recent  report :  "  To  teach  the  women  and  children  not  only  to 
read  and  write,  but  to  keep  house  neatly,  to  cook,  and  to  be  good 


262  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

wives  and  Christian  mothers."  Since  the  Home  was  founded  one 
hundred  and  fifty-iour  women  and  girls  have  thus  been  taught. 
Some  have  marrieil  C'hristian  men,  some  have  returned  to  China, 
some  have  been  helpful  as  assistants  and  Bible  readers.  The 
Home  is  gaining  favor  sis  it  becomes  known.  It  numbers  among 
its  friends  the  (/hinese  consul  and  vice-consul.  The  latter,  a 
Christian  gentleman,  was  present  at  a  recent  anniversary.  "  By 
retjuest  he  gave  a  brief  history  of  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  and 
its  connection  with  the  observance  of  the  day  by  (Jliristian  nations; 
and  closed  with  an  earnest  ai)peal  to  all  to  seek  happiness  in  the 
faith  and  worshi})  of  the  true  God."  The  Tong  Oke,  or  "  Light- 
House"  Mission  Band,  organized  November,  1881,  supports  a 
Bible-woman  in  China.  Its  contributions  for  1884  were  $60.25. 
Much  of  the  money  thus  contributed  was  earned  by  the  needle. 

House  to  house  visitation  has'  been  carried  on  by  the  ladies  of 
the  mission.  By  this  means  the  Gosjxil  has  been  carried  to  many 
heathen  women,  and  the  Christian  women  have  been  encouraged 
ill  the  ])erformance  of  duty.  Christian  ladies  from  the  East,  visiting 
San  Francisco,  have  accompanied  our  missionaries  upon  these 
visits,  and  as  a  result  have  become  more  deeply  interested  in  the 
work. 

Oakland. — When  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit  and  his  wife  went  to 
Oakland,  in  August,  1877,  to  take  permanent  charge  of  the  mis- 
sions there,  the  Chinese  Sunday-school  in  Dr.  Eells's  church, 
organized  in  1878,  was  in  the  care  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Hyde.  Fifteen 
Chinese  had  been  received  to  the  church  ;  and  Mr.  Hyde  had  for 
three  years  held  a  Sabbath  afternoon  service  in  a  jute-mill  where 
eight  hundred  Chinamen  were  employed.  The  mission  house  was 
dedicated  Feb.  10, 1878.  In  July  of  the  same  year  a  church  was 
organized,  and  Shing  Chack,  who  had  been  employed  as  a  colpor- 
teur and  possessed  considerable  power  as  a  preacher,  was  ordained 
to  the  office  of  ruling  elder.  In  1885  this  church  numbered  sixty- 
six  members. 

At  Sacramento  a  school  was  opened  in  1878.  It  is  now  in 
charge  of  Mrs.  Wilder,  who  is  also  Superintendent  of  the  Chinese 
Sunday-school.  There  are  thirty-two  Chinese  members  of  the 
Presl)yterian  C'hurch,  Rev.  Mr.  Rice,  pjistor. 

Successful  work  has  been  done  at  San  Jose,  Santa  Rosa,  Napa, 
San  Rafael  and  Alemeda. 

At  Los  Angeles  a  Chinese  Church  was  dedicated  April  27, 
1884.  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit  has  been  commissioned  to  take  charge 
of  the  work  in  that  city. 

At  Portland,  Oregon,  Rev.  W.  S.  Holt,  late  of  Shanghai, 
has  entered  u}M)n  his  work  as  missionary  for  the  Synod  of  the 
Columbia. 


THE  MISSIONS   IN   CHINA.  263 

In  New  York  City  Mr.  Daniel  Shau  Shin  is  employed  by  the 
Board,  and  progress  has  been  made.  Here,  us  in  other  large 
cities,  the  Board  employs  the  services  of  returned  missionaries 
in  ])reaching  to  the  Chinese  in  their  own  tongue. 

Hostility  to  the  C-hinese  is  the  chief  hindrance  to  the  progress 
of  this  good  work.  The  outrages  perpetrated  upon  them  have  not 
only  made  attendance  at  the  evening  schools  at  times  unsafe,  it 
has  embittered  the  minds  of  some  who  would  otherwise  be  sus- 
ceptible to  good  influence. 

Still  a  healthy  growth  is  manifest.  Converts  are  multiplying; 
the  number  of  Christian  homes  is  increasing;  young  men  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability  and  promise  are  willing  to  give  up  profitable 
emi)loyment  and  engage  in  study  to  prej^are  themselvas  for  Chris- 
tian work.  One  of  these,  Tam  Ching,  left  his  business,  went  to 
Canton  for  the  study  of  theology,  and  returned  to  California.  He 
was  described  as  "  an  eloquent  preacher,  blessed  with  a  quick  per- 
ception and  retentive  memory,  and  understanding  how  to  choose 
themes  suited  to  the  capacity  of  his  hearers,  and  to  improve  pass- 
ing events  and  local  circumstances." 

The  importance  of  the  work  can  scarcely  be  overestimated. 
For  many  years  the  Church  prayed  earnestly  that  China  might 
be  opened  to  the  gospel.  The  treaty  of  Nanking  in  1842  and 
that  of  Tien-tsin  in  1860  were  direct  answers  to  the  prayer.  But 
that  the  work  of  evangelizing  China  might  be  hastened,  great 
multitudes  of  these  idol-worshippers  have  been  sent  to  our  very 
doors.  It  is  a  golden  opportunity.  We  may  do  the  work  of  a 
foreign  missionary  without  leaving  our  own  land.  It  is  a  God- 
given  opportunity.  The  divine  purpose  is  clearly  seen  in  sending 
them  to  us — that  they  may  receive  Christian  light,  and,  returning, 
may  become  centres  of  Christian  influence  among  their  countrymen. 


Missions  to  the  Chinese  in  This  Country. 

San  Francisco:  mission  begun  1852;  missionary  laborers — 
Rev.  Messrs.  Augustus  W.  Loomis,  D.  D.,  and  A.  J.  Kerr  and 
their  wives ;  Miss  Maggie  Culbertson,  Miss  E.  R.  Cable  and  Miss 
M.  M.  Baskin ;  three  teachers  in  English ;  two  other  native  helpers. 

Sacramento  and  San  Jose  :  two  native  assistants. 

Oakland  :  mission  begun  1877 ;  missionary  laborers — two 
teachers  ;  one  native  helper. 

Los  Angeles:  Rev.  Ira  M.  Condit  and  wife;  one  native 
helper. 


264 


HK^TOKICAL    SKETCH    OF 


PoKTLAND,  Oukgon:  Rcv.  W.  S.  Holt  and  wife,  under  appoint- 
ment. 

New  York  :  one  native  assistant. 


Missionaries  in  China,  1838-1886. 

*  I)i«'(l.   t  Traii.sferroil  from  tlio  American  Board.    Figures,  term  of  Service  in  the  Ficlil. 


Abbey,  Kcv.  Rob't  E., 

1882- 

Dayenport,    Key.   S.    A. 

Abbey,  Mrs.     (Mrs.  Whit- 

(M.l).), 

1874. 

inp"  1S7.H, 

1882- 

Dickey,  Miss  E.  G., 

1873-1875 

Allen,  jr.  N.(M.D.), 

1883-1884 

Dodd,  Rev.  Samuel, 

1861-1878 

Allen,  Mrs., 

1883-1884 

Dodd,   Mrs.    (Miss    S.    L. 

Ander.son,  Miss  Jennie, 

1878- 

Green), 

1864-1878 

An(lcrson,Miss8.J.(M.D.),  1877-1880 

«Doolittle,  Rey.  J., 

1872-1873 

Atterbury,  H.  C.  (M.D.), 

1879- 

Doolittle,  Mrs., 

1872-1873 

Barr,  Miss  M.  E., 

1877-1883 

Downing,  Miss  C.  B. 

1866-1880 

Haird,  Miss  Margaret, 

1883- 

Eckard,  Rey.  L.  W., 

1869-1874 

Berry,  Miss  M.  L., 

1882-1885 

Eckard,  Mrs., 

18(i9-1874 

Bergen,  Key.  Paul  D., 

1883- 

Farnham,  Rey.  J.  M.  W., 

1860- 

Bergen,  Mrs., 

1883- 

Farnbam,  Mrs., 

1860- 

Bliss,  S.  cm  D.),  . 

1873-1874 

Farnham,  Miss  L.  D., 

1882-1885 

Brown,  Key.  Ilugb  A., 

184.5-1848 

Fitch,  Rey.  G.  F.,  f 

1870- 

•Butler,  Key.  John, 

1868-1885 

Fitch,  Mrs., 

187(»- 

Butler,  Mrs.  (Miss  F.  E. 

Folsom,  Rev.  Arthur, 

1863-1868 

Harsiiburger,  1S75-), 

1877- 

Folsom,  Mrs., 

1863-1868 

Butler,  Miss  E.  M., 

1881- 

•French,  Rev.  John  B., 

1846-1858 

*  Byers,  Key.  John, 

1852-1853 

French,  Mrs.  Mary  L., 

1851-1858 

Bvers,  Mrs., 

1852-1853 

Fulton,  Rev.  A.  A., 

1881- 

»Capp,  Key.  E.  P., 

1869-1873 

Fulton,  Mrs., 

1884- 

*Capp,  Mrs.  (Miss  M.  J. 

Fulton,  Miss  M.  11.  (M.D.), 

1884- 

Brown,  18()7-), 

1870-1883 

(Jainble,  Mr.  William, 

18.58-1869 

Carrow,  F.  (M.D.), 

1876-1878 

«Gayley,  Rev.  S.  R., 
Gayley,  Mrs., 

1858-1862 

Carrow,  Mrs.  F., 

1876-1878 

18.58-1862 

Chalfant,  Key.  W.  P., 

1885- 

•Green,  Rev.  David  D., 

1.859-1872 

Chaj)in,  Key.  Oliyer  11., 

1882-1886 

Green,  Mrs., 

1859-1872 

Chapin,  Mrs., 

1882-1886 

llapper,  Rev.  A.  P., 

1844- 

Cole,  Mr.  Kiehard, 

1844-1847 

*IIapper,Mrs.Elizabeth  B. 

,1847-1865 

Cole,  Mrs.  R., 

1844-1847 

"llapper,  Mrs., 

1869-1873 

Condit,  Key.  Ira  M., 

1860-1867 

IIapj)er,  Mrs.  (Miss  II.  J. 

*Condit,  Mrs.  Laura, 

1860-1866 

Shaw,  1870-), 

1876- 

Cooley,  Miss  A.  S., 

1878-1879 

IIapj)er,  Miss  Lucy, 

1869-1871 

Corbett,  Key.  Hunter  J., 

1864- 

Haj)per,  Miss  Lily, 

1871-1880 

»(;orbett,  Mrs.  II., 

1864-1873 

llapper.  Miss  Mary  M., 

1879-1884 

Corbett,  Mrs., 

1875- 

I  Tapper,  Miss  Alverda, 

1880- 

♦Coulter,  Mr.  Moses  S., 

1849-1852 

Hayes,  Rev.  John  N., 

1882- 

Coulter,  Mrs.  C.  E., 

1849-1854 

Hayes,  Mrs., 

1882- 

Crossette,  Key.  J.  F.,t 

1870-1879 

Hayes,  Rev.  Watson  E., 

1882- 

Crossette,  Mrs., 

1870-1879 

Hayes,  Mrs., 

1882- 

♦Culbertson.  Key.  M.  S.. 

1844-1862 

Henry,  Rev.  B.  C, 

1873- 

Culbertson,  Mrs., 

1X44-1862 

Henry,  Mrs., 

1873- 

•Danforth,  Key.  Joshua  A 

,1859-1863 

Hepburn,  James  C.  (M.D.), 

1841-1846 

♦Danforth,  Mrs., 

1859-1861 

Hepburn,  Mrs., 

1841-1846 

THE   MISSIONS   IN    CHINA, 


265 


Holt,  Rev.  W.  S., 

1873-1885 

Holt,  Mrs., 

1873-1885 

Houston,  Miss  B., 

1878-1879 

Hunter,  Rev.  S.  A.  (M.D.), 

1879- 

Hunter,  Mrs., 

1879- 

*Inslee,  Rev.  Elias  B., 

1857-1861 

*Inslee,  Mrs., 

1857-1861 

Judson,  Rev.  J.  H., 

1880- 

Judson.  Mrs., 

1880- 

Kelsey,    Miss    A.    D.    H. 

(M;D.), 

1878-1884 

Kerr,  J.  G.  (M.D.), 

1854- 

*Kerr,  Mrs., 

1854-1855 

*Kerr,  Mrs., 

1858-1885 

Lauglilin,  Rev.  J.  Hood, 

1881- 

*Laugiilin,  Mrs., 

1881-1884 

Leaman,  Rev.  Ciiarles, 

1874- 

Leaman,Mrs.LucyA.(Miss 

L.  A.  Croucli,  1873-), 

1878- 

Lewis,  Miss  Harriet, 

1883- 

Leyenberger,  Rev.  J.  A., 

1866- 

Leyenberger,  Mrs., 

1866- 

*  Lloyd,  Rev.  John, 

1844-1848 

Loouiis,  Rev.  A.  W., 

1844-1850 

Looniis,  Mrs., 

1844-1850 

*Lowrie,  Rev.  Walter  M., 

1842-1847 

*Lowrie,  Rev.  Reuben, 

1854-1860 

Lowrie,   Mrs.  Amelia   P. 

1854-1860 

1883- 

Lowrie,  Rev.  J.  Walter, 

1883- 

Lowrie,  Miss  Mary, 

1883- 

Lyon,  Rev.  D.  N., 

1869-1881 

Lyon,  Mrs., 

1869-1881 

*McBryde,  Rev.  T.  L., 

1840-1843 

McBryde,  Mrs., 

1840-1843 

McCandliss,  H.  M.  (M.  D.) 

,  1885- 

McCartee,    Rev.    D.    B 

(M.D.), 

1844-1873 

McCartee,  Mrs.  Juana, 

1852-1873 

«  McChesney,  Rev.  W.  E., 

1869-1872 

McChesney,  Mrs., 

1869-1872 

McCoy,  Rev.  D.,t 

1869- 

McCoy,  Mrs. 
*McIlvaine,  Rev.  J.  S., 

1869- 

1868-1881 

McKee,  Rev.  W.  J. 

1878- 

McKee,  Mrs.  (Miss  A.  P 

Ketchum), 

1876- 

Marcellus,  Rev.  A., 

1869-1870 

Marcellus,  Mrs., 

1869-1870 

Martin,  Rev.  W.  A.  P., 

1850-1869 

Matthewson,  J.  M.,  M.  D 

1883- 

Martin,  Mrs., 

1850-1869 

Mateer,  Rev.  C.  W., 

1864- 

Mateer,  Mrs., 

1864- 

Mateer,  Mr.  J.  L., 

1872-1875 

Mateer,  Rev.  R.  M., 

1881- 

^lateer,  Mrs.  S.  A., 

1881- 

Mateer,  Miss  Lillian  E., 

1881-1882 

Mills,  Rev.  C.  R., 

1857- 

*Mills,  Mrs.,  1857-1874 

Mills,  Mrs.,  1884- 

Mills,  Rev.  Frank  V.,  1882- 

Mills,  Mrs.,  1882- 

«Mitchell,  Rev.  John  A.,  1838- 

»Morrison,  Rev.  Wm.  T.,  1860-1869 

Morrison,  Mrs.  M.  E.,  1860-1876 

Murray,  Rev.  John,  1876- 

Murray,  Mrs.,  1876- 

Nevius,  Rev.  J.  L  ,  1854- 

Nevius,  Mrs.  H.  S.  C,  1854- 

Neal,  James  B.,  M.  D.,  1883- 

Neal,  Mrs.,  1883- 

Niles,  Miss  M.  E.,  M.  D.,  1882- 

Noyes,  Rev.  Henry  V.,  1866- 

»Noyes,  Mrs.  Cynthia  C,  1866- 

Noyes,  Mrs.  A.  A.,  1876- 

Noyes,  Miss  H.,  1868- 

Noyes,  Miss  M.  E.,  1873- 

*Orr,  Rev.  R.  W.,  1838-1841 

»Orr,  Mrs.,  1838-1841 

sPatrick,  Miss  Mary  M.,  1869-1871 

Patterson,  J.  P.  (M.  D.),  1871  1874 

«Preston,  Rev.  C.  F.,  1854-1877 

Preston,  Mrs.,  1854-1877 

Quarterman,  Rev.  J.  W.,  1846-1857 

*Rankin.  Rev.  Henry  V.,  1848-1863 

Rankin,  Mrs.  Mary  G.,  1848-1864 

Reid,  Rev.  Gilbert,  1882- 
Roberts,  Rev.  J.  S.,   1861-65 ;  1874-78 
Roberts,  Mrs.             1861-65 ;  1874-78 

Schmucker,  Miss  A.  J.,  1878-1879 

Sellers,  Miss  M.  R.,  1874-1876 

*Shaw,  Rev.  J.  M.,  1874-1876 

Shaw,  Mrs.,  1874- 

Smith,  Horace  R.  fM.D.),  1881-1884 

Smith,  Mrs.,  "  1881-1884 

Smith,  Rev.  John  N.  B.,  1881- 
Smith,  Mrs.  (Miss  Strong,  1882)-1885- 

Speer,  Rev.  William,  1846-1850 

*Speer,  Mrs.  Cornelia,  1846-1847 

Stubbert,  J.  E.  (M.  D.),  1881-1881 

Swan,  John  M.,(M.D.),  1885- 

Swan,  Mrs.,  1885- 
Thomson,  Rev.  J.  C.(M.D.),1881- 

Thomson,  Mrs.,  1881- 

Tiflfanv,  Miss  Ida,  1881-1882 

Ward,"  Miss  Ellen,  1885- 

Warner,  Miss  S.  A.,  1878- 

Way,  Rev.  R.  Q.,  1844-1858 

Way,  Mrs.,  1844-1858 

Wherry,  Rev.  John,  1864- 

Wherry,  Mrs.,  1864- 
White,  Rev.  Wellington,  1881- 
White,  Mrs.,  1881- 

*Whiting,  Rev.  A.  M.,         1873-1878 
Whiting,  Mrs.,  1873- 

Whiting,  Rev.  J.  L.,t  1869- 

Whiting,  Mrs.,  1869- 


266         HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF   THE   MISSIONS   IN    CHINA. 

Wipht,  Rev.  Joseph  K.,       1848-1867   ,   Wisner,  Rev.  Oscar  F.,        1885- 
•WiK'ht,  Mrs.,  1848-1857   |   Wisner,  Miss  J.,  1885- 

Wight,  Miss  Fanny,  1885-  | 

Missionaries  to  the  Chinese  in  California,  1859-1881. 

Condit,  Rev.  Ira  M.,             1870-  |  Loomis,  Rev.  A.  W.,            1859- 

Con.iit,  Mrs.  Samantha  D.,  1872-  I  *Loomis,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann,  IS.'Sg-lSee 

Culhcrtson,  Miss  M.,             1S7S-  '  Loomis,  Mr.s.,                          1875- 

Cumminfrs,  MissS.  M.,         1.S74-1877  j  Phillips,  Miss  II.  N.,            1875-1877 

K»rr,  J.  G.  (M.  I).),  1877-1878  Speer,  Rev.  William,  1852-1857 

•Kerr,  Mrs.,                           1877-1878  1  Speer,  Mrs.,                            1852-1857 

Chinese  in  New  York. 
•Goodrich,  Miss  S.  U., 1878-1882 


Books  of  Reference. 

Boy  Travellers  in  China  and  Japan.     C.  C.  Coflin.    .$2.00. 

Brush's  Five  Years  in  China.    80  cents. 

China  and  the  Chinese.     J.  L.  Nevius,  D.  D.    $1.75. 

China  as  a  Mission  Field.     Dr.  Knowlton.     10  cents. 

China  and  Corea.     C.  H.  Eden.    $2.00. 

China  (A  Missionary  Pamphlet).    J.  T.  Gracey.     25  cents. 

China  and  Japan.     Bishop  T.  W.  Wiley.    $1  50. 

China  and  the  Gospel.     W.  Muirhead.     4s.  6d. 

China  and  the  United  States.     W.  Speer,  D.D.    $3.00. 

China,  Pictorial   and   Descriptive,  (with  some  account  of  Ava  and   the 

Burmese,  Siam  and  Anam).     Bohn's  Libraries.    5s. 
China  and  its  People.     By  a  Missionary  Wife.     Is. 
Chinese  Classics,  The.     Dr.  James  Legge.    $3.50. 
Chinese  in  America.     O.  B.  Gibson.    .>1..50. 
Five  Years  in  China.     Life  of  Rev.  William  Aitchison.    $1.25. 
Chinese  Slave  Girl.     Rev.  J.  A.  Davis.     $1.40. 
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Gutzlaflf's  China.     2  vols. 

Indo-British  Opium  Trade.     Dr.  Theo.  Christlieb.     2s. 
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Middle  Kingdom,  The.     (2  vols.)    S.  W.  Williams,  LL.  D.    $9.00. 
Meadow's  Chinese  and  their  Rebellion. 
Medhurst's,  The  Foreigner  in  Far  Cathay.    $1.50. 
Our  Life  in  China.     Mrs.  J.  L.  Nevius.    $1..50. 
Religions  in  China.     Dr.  James  Legge.    $2.50. 
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Sketch  of  Chinese  History,  A.     (2  vols.)    Chas.  Gutzlaff.     28s. 
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apan. 


Eev.  a.  gosman,  d.d. 


iir'  mwm 


VKfue 

bone, 

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„      gunv, 

bite. 


MISSION  IN  JAPAN. 


THE   COUNTRY. 


The  islands  which  compose  the  Japanese  empire  stretch  in  a 
crescent  shape  along  the  northeastern  coast  of  Asia,  from  Kam- 
tchatka  on  the  north  to  Korea  on  the  south,  embracing  an  area 
of  about  160,000  square  miles.  They  are  very  numerous,  but  the 
four  islands  of  Yezo,  Niphon  (or  more  accurately  Hondo), 
Shikoku  and  Kiushiu  form  the  great  portion  of  the  empire.  The 
climate,  except  in  the  very  northern  islands,  is  mild  and  healthful. 
The  heats  of  summer  are  tempered  by  the  surrounding  ocean, 
and  the  Gulf  Stream  of  the  Pacific,  which  washes  the  eastern 
shores  of  these  islands,  mitigates  the  severity  of  the  winter.  In 
location  and  climate  there  is  a  striking  similarity  between  these 
islands  and  those  of  the  British  empire,  so  that  Japan  may  be 
called  the  Great  Britain  of  the  East.  The  great  mountain  chain 
which  forms  the  backbone  of  the  islands  is  broken  by  frequent 
valleys,  exceedingly  fertile,  and  opening  out  to  the  sea  in  small 
but  fruitful  plains.  The  skies  are  clear  and  beautiful,  and  nature 
clothes  itself  in  its  brightest  robes  of  green.  It  is  a  land  of  fruits 
and  flowers,  and  its  hills  are  stored  with  the  choicest  minerals.  At 
the  census  of  1878  the  population  of  the  empire  was  34,3o8,404. 

A  fertile  soil,  healthful  air,  temperate  climate,  abundant  food, 
and  comparative  isolation  from  other  nations,  with  that  subtle, 
ever  present  sense  of  uncertainty  which  clings  to  all  volcanic 
regions,  have  shaped,  to  a  large  extent,  the  character  and  history 
of  the  people. 

THE   PEOPLE. 

The  Japanese  are  a  kindly  people,  impressible,  quick  to  observe 
and  imitate,  ready  to  adopt  whatever  may  seem  to  promote  their 
present  good,  imaginative,  fond  of  change,  and  yet  withal  loyal 
to  their  government  and  traditions.  The  long  and  bloody  strifes 
which  have  marked  their  history  have  not  only  left  their  impress 
in  a  strong  martial  spirit,  but  have  naturally  resulted  in  separat- 
ing the  people  into  two  great  classes,  the  Samurai  or  military — 
who  in  Japan  are  at  the  same  time  the  literati,  holding  both  the 
sword  and  the  pen — and  the  agriculturists,  merchants  and  artisans. 
The  distinction  holds  not  only  in  their  social  but  in  their  intel- 
12  269 


270  HISTORICAL   SKI-rrCII    OF 

lectual  and  moral  character.  What  is  dt.'5-crij)tivc  of  the  one  class 
is  not  necessarily  true  of  the  other.  The  rulinj;  or  military  class 
are  intelligent,  cultured,  courteous,  restless,  })roud,  quick  to  avenge 
an  attront,  ready  even  to  take  their  own  lives  upon  any  reproach, — 
thinking,  apparently,  that  the  only  thing  which  will  wash  out  a 
stain  upon  their  honor  is  their  own  blood.  The  more  menial  class 
is  low,  superstitious,  degraded,  but  more  contented.  The  average 
Japanese  is,  however,  com})aratively  well  educated,  reverent  to 
elders,  obedient  to  parents,  gentle,  aliectionate,  and,  as  far  as  this 
life  is  concerned,  indifierent,  and,  in  that  sense,  happy.  But  there 
is  a  sad  want  of  the  higher  moral  virtues.  Truth,  purity,  temper- 
ance, unselfish  devotion,  self-denial,  love  to  men,  are  not  prominent 
virtues:  they  are  lamentably  wanting.  Even  that  obedience  to 
parents  which  may  he  regarded  as  their  characteristic  virtue,  has 
been  carried  to  such  an  extent  practically,  is  held  so  fully  without 
any  limitations  in  personal  rights  or  conscience,  that  it  actually 
proves  "  the  main  prop  of  ])aganism  and  superstition,  and  is  the 
root  of  the  worst  blot  on  the  Jaj)anese  character — the  slavery  of 
prostituted  women."  The  idea  of  chastity  seems  almost  to  have 
perished  from  the  Japanese  life. 

THE   HISTORY. 

The  history  of  Japan  falls  into  three  great  periods.  The  lines 
of  division  are  so  well  marked  that  all  writers  recognize  them. 
The  first  stretches  into  the  remote  past,  and  comes  down  to  about 
the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  ab- 
origines have  gradually  retired  before  a  stronger  foreign  power, 
until,  partly  by  destruction  and  partly  by  amalgamation  with 
their  conquerors,  they  have  well-nigh  disappeared.  The  pure 
Ainos — or  the  original  inhabitants — are  found  only  in  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  islands.  It  is  not  certain  from  what  quarter  the 
adventurers  came ;  but  the  existence  of  Chinese  words  in  their 
language,  and  the  known  relation  between  these  two  nations  in 
later  historic  periods,  point  to  the  swarming  hive  of  China  as  one 
of  the  sources  from  which  the  present  Jajianese  have  come;  Avhile 
another  element  of  the  population  is  of  Malay  origin.  The 
present  mikado  or  emperor  of  Japan  traces  his  line  back  in  un- 
broken succession  to  about  660  n.  c,  when,  according  to  their 
tradition,  Jimmu  Tenno,  the  first  mikado — sprung  from  the  sun- 
goddess — landed  upon  the  islands  with  a  few  retainers,  and,  after 
a  severe  and  protracted  struggle  with  the  natives,  established  the 
empire.  The  dynasty  thus  founded  has  never  lost  its  hold  u])on 
the  people,  who  regard  the  emperor  as  divine,  and  whose  loyalty 
has  its  support  and  strength  in  their  religion.     Its  actual  power, 


THE   MISSION    IN   JAPAN.  271 

however,  has  been  liable  to  great  fluctuations.  The  ruling  prince 
found  it  difficult  at  times  to  restrain  the  power  and  pride  of  his 
nobles,  or  daimios.  They  were  restless,  ambitious,  wielding  abso- 
lute power  in  their  own  domain,  and  chafing  under  restraints — 
rendering  oftentimes  a  formal  rather  than  a  real  allegiance  to  the 
supreme  ruler.  It  was  not  an  unnatural  step,  therefore,  when 
Yoritomo,  one  of  these  powerfld  nobles,  employed  by  the  emperor 
to  subdue  his  rebellious  subjects,  usurped  the  entire  executive 
authority,  and  thus  closed  the  first  period  of  the  history. 

The  second  period  reaches  from  the  origin  of  this  dual  power  in 
the  state — 1143  A.  d. — until  the  restoration  of  the  imperial  author- 
ity— 1853-1868.  Yoritomo  never  claimed  the  position  or  honor 
of  emperor.  He  was  not  a  rival  to  the  mikado.  He  recognized 
the  source  of  authority  in  the  divine  line,  but  under  the  title  of 
shogtin  or  general,  exercised  regal  power,  and  transmitted  his  oflice 
in  his  own  line,  or  in  rival  families.  His  edicts  were  in  the  name 
of  the  emperor.  It  was  his  policy  to  assume  only  to  be  the  first 
of  the  princes  under  the  divine  head.  The  title  of  tycoon  (taikun, 
great  lord),  attributed  to  him  by  foreign  powers,  was  never 
claimed  by  him  until  the  treaty  with  Commodore  Perry,  in  1853. 
It  was  the  assumption  of  this  title  which  prepared  the  way  for 
his  downfall  and  the  overthrow  of  the  whole  system  connected 
with  him^a  system  which,  like  the  feudal  system  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  having  served  its  purpose,  now  stood  as  a  bar  to  the  nation's 
progress,  and  must  therefore  perish. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  papal  missionaries  under 
Francis  Xavier  reached  Japan — 1549.  Although  meeting  with 
serious  difficulties,  in  his  ignorance  of  the  language  and  the  oppo- 
sition made  by  the  followers  of  the  existing  religions,  Xavier  was 
well  received  and  had  great  success.  Converts  were  rapidly 
multiplied,  so  that  in  about  thirty  years  there  were  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  native  Christians.  But  his  success  was  due 
partly  to  the  doctrines  he  preached— in  contrast  with  Buddhism 
full  of  hope  and  promise — but  mainly  to  the  fact  that  he  made 
the  transition  from  heathenism  to  Christianity  very  easy.  It 
was  largely  the  substitution  of  one  form  of  idolatry  for  another. 
The  political  plans  and  intrigues  of  the  Jesuits  soon  awakened 
the  opposition  of  the  natives.  The  flames  of  civil  war  were 
kindled  and  the  Christians  were  exterminated  with  the  decree 
over  their  graves,  "So  long  as  the  sun  shall  warm  the  earth, 
let  no  Christian  be  so  bold  as  to  come  to  Japan."  The  edict 
forbidding  Christianity  was  followed  by  one  rigidly  excluding  all 
foreigners  from  Japan,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  Dutch  traders, 
who  under  the  most  humiliating  conditions  were  allowed  a  resi- 
dence in  Deshima,  a  little  island  in  the  port  of  Nagasaki.     The 


272  IlISTOKICAL   .SKETCH    OF 

Japane:«e  were  forbidden  to  leave  their  country,  and  those  even 
■who  were  driven  from  their  land  by  storms,  or  carried  by  the  cur- 
rents of  the  sea  to  otlier  shores,  if  they  returned  were  to  be  put  to 
deatli.  This  is  what  the  Christian  world  owes  to  Jesuit  missions, 
and  it  furnishes  an  instructive  comment  upon  the  spirit  and 
methods  in  whicli  these  missions  are  conducted. 

This  policy  of  entire  seclusion,  so  inaugurated,  was  maintained 
until  the  treaty  with  Commodore  Perry,  in  1853,  which  introduces 
the  third  period  in  the  history  of  Japan.  It  would  be  a  mistake, 
however  (sis  Grittis — "  The  Mikado's  Empire,"  chap,  xxviii. — 
has  clearly  shown),  to  attribute  the  great  revolution  which  then 
began,  and  was  completed  in  the  restoration  of  the  mikado  to 
his  rightful  throne  in  18(iM,  to  such  an  event  as  this,  or  to  the 
subsecjuent  treaties  with  other  western  })owers.  No  mere  external 
event  like  this  could  have  fired  the  i)oj)ular  heart  unless  it  had 
been  prepared  for  it.  Mighty  forces  were  at  work  among  the 
people  tending  to  this  result.  They  were  growing  restless  under 
the  usurpation  of  the  shogun.  Rival  families  who  had  been  .sub- 
jected, were  plotting  his  destruction.  The  more  cultivated  of  the 
people  were  growing  accpiainted  with  the  facts  and  principles  of 
their  earlier  history.  Men  of  culture  and  influence — scholars, 
soldiei'S,  statesmen — were  laboring  to  bring  back  the  old  regime. 
The  introduction  of  the  foreigner,  even  in  the  restricted  sense  in 
which  it  was  first  permitted,  only  served  to  hasten  what  was 
already  sure  to  come.  It  was  the  spark  which  kindled  the 
elements  into  a  flame.  But,  whatever  the  cause,  a  mighty  revo- 
lution swept  over  the  land.  The  mikado  resumed  his  power. 
The  shogun  was  compelled  to  resign  his  position,  the  more  power- 
ful daimios  were  removed  from  their  fiefs,  the  whole  feudal  system 
fell  as  at  a  single  blow,  and  a  government  administered  like  the 
modern  governments  of  Europe,  was  established.  The  mikado, 
without  formally  renouncing  his  claim  upon  the  loyalty  and 
homage  of  his  people  on  the  ground  of  his  divine  descent,  has 
come  out  from  his  seclusion,  has  changed  his  ca})ital  to  the  great 
city  of  Tokio,  moves  among  his  people  like  otiier  princes,  seems 
<lisi)Osed  to  seek  their  interests,  and  is  making  strenuous  efforts  to 
secure  for  Japan  a  recognized  place  among  the  enlightened 
nations  of  the  world.  It  was  this  treaty  and  the  revolution  which 
followed  it,  which  opened  the  way  for  Christian  work  in  Japan. 

RELIGIONS   IN   JAPAN. 

The  early  faith  of  the  Japanese  (Shintoism)  seems  to  have  been 
little  more  than  a  deification  and  worehip  of  nature,  and  a 
supreme  reverence  for  their  ancestors  and  rulers,  who  were  not 


THE  MISSION   IN   JAPAN.  273 

the  representatives  of  God,  but  the  divinities  themselves.  Its 
central  principle  is  the  divinity  of  the  mikado  and  the  duty  of 
all  Japanese  to  obey  him  implicitly.  "It  is  in  no  pro]ier  sense  of 
the  term  a  religion.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  could  ever  have 
been  so  denominated."  Whatever  it  may  have  been  originally, 
in  its  revised  form  as  it  now  exists,  it  is  little  more  than  apolitical 
principle  underlying  the  present  form  of  government,  and  embody- 
ing itself  in  governmental  laws  and  regulations.  It  is  the  state 
religion,  but  has  a  feeble  hold  uj)on  the  masses  of  the  people.  It 
does  not  claim  to  meet  or  satisfy  any  of  the  religious  demands 
of  our  nature.  It  left  the  way  open  for  any  system  which  should 
propose  to  meet  those  demands. 

Accordingly,  about  550  A.  D.  the  Buddhists  carried  their  faith 
from  China  to  Ja])an.  Buddhism,  originating  in  India,  but  sub- 
sequently expelled  from  its  native  soil,  swept  through  Burmah, 
Siam,  China,  northeastern  Asia  and  Japan,  and  now  holds  nearly 
one-third  of  the  human  race  among  its  adherents.  Theoretically 
it  is  a  system  of  godless  philosophy,  connected  with  a  relatively 
pure  and  elevated  morality. 

But  this  was  not  Buddhism  as  it  came  to  Japan.  In  the  twelve 
hundred  years  of  its  existence,  it  had  grown  from  a  philosophical 
system  into  a  vast  ecclesiastical  and  sacerdotal  system,  with  its 
*  idols,  its  altars,  its  priests  and  ritual,  its  monks  and  nuns — indeed 
a  Roman  Catholicism  without  Christ.  It  found  a  congenial  and 
unoccupied  soil  in  the  Japanese  mind,  and,  although  meeting  with 
opposition,  spread  rapidly  until  it  became  the  religion  of  the  state, 
and  ultimately  embraced  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  It  reached 
its  golden  age,  in  Japan,  about  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  A.  d.,  when  the  land  w^as  filled  with  its  temples,  priests 
and  worshippers.*  Buddhism,  in  Japan,  has  its  different  sects  or 
denominations,  bearing  the  names  of  its  great  teachers  and 
apostles,  varying  almost  as  widely  in  doctrines  and  customs  as 
Protestants  vary  from  Romanists,  but  still  all  united  in  opposition 
to  the  Christian  faith.  While  it  has  lost  something  of  its  power 
and  glory,  and  deteriorated  in  its  moral  teachings,  it  is  still  the 
religion  of  the  people,  and  presents  the  great  religious  obstacle 
to  the  introduction  and  spread  of  the  gospel. 

Conflicianism  also  has  its  followers  in  Japan  ;  but  as  that  great 
philosopher  never  claimed  to  be  a  religious  teacher,  never  discussed 
or  answered  the  momentous  questions  as  to  man's  religious  nature, 
his  origin  or  his  destiny,  and  regarded  man  solely  in  his  political, 

*The  most  famous  statues  (or  idols)  of  Buddha  are  the  Dai-Butz  (Great  Buddha) 
at  Kamakura  and  Nara.  Tliat  at  Kamakura  is  a  mass  of  copper  forty-four  feet  liigh. 
Tlie  Nara  image  is  larger,  although  not  so  perfect  as  a  work  of  art.  It  is  fifty-three 
and  a  half  feet  high  ;  its  face  is  sixteen  feet  long  and  nine  feet  wide.  It  is  a  bronze 
composed  of  gold,  tin,  mercury  and  copper. 


274  HISTORICAL  8KEICH  OF 

social  and  moral  relations  in  this  life,  Confucianism  cannot  be 
reiranled  jw  a  relitrion.  It  oHc-rs  no  serious  hindrance  to  the 
progress  of  Chrif<tian  missions.  Shintoism  as  the  religion  of 
the  state,  allying  itself  with  modern  secularism  ;  atheism  and 
liuddhism,  the  religion  of  the  mtusses,  are  the  .Japanese  rationalism 
and  superstition  which  the  gospel  must  meet  and  overcome. 

PREPARATIONS   FOR  THE  WORK. 

For  this  work  the  way  had  been  wonderfully  prepared.  The 
providence  of  God  was  clearly  leading  the  Church  to  this  field. 
American  enterprise  had  reached  the  Pacific  slope,  and  was  push- 
ing its  commerce  to  the  eastern  continent,  which  now  lay  at  its 
doore.  Lines  of  steamers  went  out  from  the  (Jolden  (nitc,  and 
on  their  way  to  China,  skirted  these  beautiful  islands,  whicii, 
although  secluded  from  the  world,  were  known  to  be  filled  with 
a  teeming  j)opulation.  The  scanty  information  which  the  civilized 
world  had  obtained  through  the  Dutch  traders,  fed  the  desire  to 
know  more.  The  necessities  of  commerce  seemed  to  demand  that 
the  long  seclusion  should  cease.  On  the  other  hand  there  had  been, 
as  we  have  seen,  a  great  awakening  among  tlie  Japanese  them- 
selves. The  spirit  of  inquiry  which  led  their  scholars  back  into 
their  earliest  records,  turned  their  thoughts  also  to  the  outlying 
world.  Eager  and  searching  ((uestions  were  put  to  the  Dutch 
traders.  A  dim  conception  of  the  superior  power  and  civilization 
of  the  western  world  began  to  dawn  upon  their  minds.  The  more 
thoughtful  were  longing  for  a  clearer  knowledge  of  that  outside 
world,  and  to  break  through  the  barriers  which  had  so  long  shut 
them  in.  At  the  same  time  the  fermentation  in  religious  thought, 
connected  with  the  political  and  social  changes  in  the  restoration 
of  the  Shinto  faith,  with  the  mikado's  power,  was  favorable  to  the 
sj)irit  of  in(juiry.  Those  who  were  wearied  and  dissatisfied  were 
ready  to  listen  favorably  to  the  claims  of  the  new  faith  which  was 
even  now  standing  at  their  doors.  At  this  juncture,  in  1^53,  a 
small  American  s(iuadron  under  (commodore  Perry — in  no  spirit 
of  con(|uest,  but  in  the  interest  of  commerce  and  humanity — 
appeared  in  the  Jai)anese  waters,  and  succeeded  in  o|)ening  the 
long-sealed  gates.  Tlie  fleet  under  Perry  was  the  representative 
of  the  western  nations.  The  American  treaty  was  rapidly  followed 
by  treaties  with  other  powers,  granting  larger  privileges.  In  18G0 
Mr.  Townsend  Harris,  United  States  consul-gen(;ral  for  Japan, 
negotiated  a  new  treaty,  opening  other  ])arts  of  the  empire  to 
commerce,  in  which  Christianity  and  Christian  teaching  were  no 
longer  forbidden,  and  the  custom  of  trampling  on  the  cross  was 
abolished,  but  which  contained  no  clauses  granting  liberty  to  the 


THE   MISSION    IN   JAPAN.  275 

Japanese  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith,  or  for  Christian  mis- 
sionaries to  proclaim  its  truths. 

MISSION   WORK   IN  JAPAN. 

The  Christian  Church  was  watching  with  intense  interest  the 
steps  by  which  Japan  was  opened  to  the  civilized  world.  As  early 
as  1855,  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  requested 
Dr.  McCartee,  one  of  its  missionaries  in  China,  to  visit  Japan  and 
make  inquiries  preparatory  to  sending  forth  a  laborer  to  this  long 
inaccessible  field.  The  Board  believed  Dr.  McCartee  to  be 
peculiarly  qualified  for  this  important  pioneer  work,  and  hoped, 
if  his  reports  were  favorable,  to  enter  immediately  upon  the  work 
there.  Dr.  McCartee  went  at  once  to  Shanghai,  but  was  unable 
to  obtain  a  passage  thence  in  any  vessel  to  the  Japanese  ports, 
and  after  some  delay  returned  to  his  work  at  Ningpo.  The  way 
was  not  yet  open.  It  was  thought  to  be  impracticable  to  establish 
the  mission  contemplated,  and  the  Board  waited,  watching  the 
movements  for  the  first  favorable  indication.  After  three  yeai-s 
of  weary  waiting,  the  favorable  indication  was  seen ;  the  executive 
committee  reported  that  in  their  judgment  the  way  was  open,  and 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  our  Church  now  to  take  part  in  this  great 
work.  Brethren  were  found  ready  and  eager  to  be  sent.  Dr. 
James  C.  Hepburn  and  his  wife,  formerly  missionaries  in  China, 
but  then  residing  in  New  York,  where  Dr.  Hepburn  had  secured 
a  handsomely  remunerative  practice,  were  appointed  by  the  Board, 
and  sailed  for  Shanghai,  on  their  way  to  Japan,  April  24,  1859. 
Rev.  J.  L.  Ne^'ius  and  his  wife,  of  the  Ningpo  mission,  were  asso- 
ciated with  Dr.  Hepburn  in  the  new  mission.  Thus  our  Church 
was  among  the  first  to  enter  the  open  field.  Dr.  Hepburn  arrived 
in  Japan  early  in  November,  1859,  and  settled  at  Kanagawa,  a 
few  miles  from  Yedo  (now  Tokio).  Here  a  Buddhist  temple  was 
soon  obtained  as  a  residence ;  the  idols  were  removed,  and  the 
heathen  temple  was  converted  into  a  Christian  home  and  church. 
The  missionaries  found  the  people  civil  and  friendly,  inquisitive, 
bright,  eager  to  learn,  apt  in  making  anything  needed,  if  a  model 
were  given  them.  There  was  no  decided  opposition  from  the 
government,  although  it  evidently  knew  who  the  missionaries 
were  and  what  was  the  object  of  their  coming.  They  were 
kept  under  constant  surveillance,  and  all  their  movements  were 
reported  to  the  rulers.  The  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed,  greatly  facilitated  their  progress  in  the  study  of  the 
language.  Going  without  servants,  and  relying  entirely  upon 
Japanese  workmen,  carpenters,  servants,  &c.,  they  were  compelled 
to  use  the  language,  and  made  quite  rapid  progress.     Dr.  Hep- 


276  HISTORICAL   SKETCn    OF 

hum  says,  "The  writtt-n  language  Is  no  doubt  more  difficult  than 
the  Chinese,  and  the  spoken  is  nearly  as  difficult,  though  quite 
different  in  structure."  Public  service,  to  which  foreignei-s  were 
invited,  was  established  in  the  home,  and  the  mission  work  began 
— Dr.  Hepburn  using  his  medical  skill  and  practice,  as  furnish- 
ing an  oj)portunity  to  speak  to  the  suliering,  of  Christ,  whose 
gosj>el  he  was  not  })ermitted  to  ])rc;u'h. 

Mr.  anil  Mrs.  Nevius  were  jirevcnted  from  joining  the  mission 
permanently,  by  the  state  of  their  health  and  by  the  urgent  call 
for  their  sen'iccs  in  China.  For  a  time  there  was  some  solicitude 
for  the  j)ersonal  safety  of  the  missionaries,  owing  to  a  reactionary 
movement  among  tlie  ruling  classes.  They  were  jealous  of  their 
prerogatives,  and  in  many  cases  eager  for  a  return  to  the  old 
exclusive  policy  of  the  government.  But  the  danger  soon  passed 
away.  While  the  missionaries  were  watched  with  the  utmost 
vigilance,  they  were  not  interfered  with,  or  subjected  to  any 
restrictions  which  were  not  im])osed  upon  other  foreignci-s  residing 
within  the  empire.  They  could  not  yet  engage  in  direct  mis- 
sionary work,  but  were  forced  to  content  themselves  with  the 
work  in  the  dispensary,  with  the  acquisition  of  the  language,  and 
the  distribution  of  a  few  copies  of  the  New  Testament  in  Chinese, 
wliich  it  wjis  found  a  small  portion  of  the  people  could  read. 
Meanwhile  they  were  waiting  in  faith,  exploring  the  field, 
watching  for  oi)portunities  which  might  jiresent  themselv&s,  an-d 
acquiring  the  facilities  for  efficient  work  when  the  time  should 
come.  They  found  the  people  eager  for  knowledge,  fond  of 
reading,  nearly  the  whole  population  able  to  read  books  written 
in  their  own  character,  and  fami.shing  for  the  "Word  of  life. 
There  was  a  great  work,  therefore,  in  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  the  pre{)aration  of  religious  tracts,  pressing  upon  them, 
and  the  lone  mL^sionaries  called  earnestly  for  help.  Watching 
tlie  progress  of  events  around  him,  im  he  saw  the  government 
breaking  through  its  ])rejudices  and  adopting  freely  everything 
foriign  which  it  found  useful,  Dr.  He])l)urn  writes,  "I  feel  sure 
that  as  soon  a.s  the  government  knows  what  the  sj)irit  of  true 
Christianity  is,  they  will  give  it  free  toleration." 

It  was  found  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  remain  at  Kana- 
gawa,  on  account  of  the  opposition  of  the  Jay)anese  authorities  to 
the  residence  of  foreigners  in  that  place.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  year  1862 — after  three  years  residence  at  Kanagawa — Dr. 
Hepburn  j)urchased  a  property  for  the  mission  in  Yokohama, 
and  removed  to  that  ])lace.  It  lay  just  across  the  bay  from 
his  ])reviou8  station,  but  was  more  acceptable  to  the  authorities 
because  it  was  the  place  where  other  foreigners  mostly  resided. 
In  the  eyes  of  the  government,  the  missionary  as  yet  was  but  one 


THE  MISSION   IN   JAPAN.  277 

of  the  foreigners.  Soon  after  the  removal  to  Yokohama,  the 
Rev.  David  Thompson  joined  the  mission,  and  the  work  in  the 
study  of  the  language  and  the  rough  preliminary  translation  of 
the  Scriptures  was  pushed  forward  with  greater  energy  and  suc- 
cess. Doors  were  partly  opened  to  other  work.  Application  was 
made  that  the  missionary  would  consent  to  instruct  a  company 
of  Japanese  youth  in  geometry  and  chemistry.  To  his  surprise 
he  found  these  young  men  far  advanced  in  mathematical  studies. 
With  this  instruction  in  English,  he  was  able  to  connect  lessons 
in  Christian  doctrines  and  duties ;  and  thus,  though  unofficially, 
yet  really  began  to  preach  the  gospel. 

This  school,  which  was  so  full  of  promise,  was  soon  broken  up. 
The  country  was  in  a  disturbed  state;  society  was  rent  into 
parties,  which  were  bitterly  hostile  to  each  other,  but  all  more  or 
less  jealous  of  any  foreign  influence.  The  youug  men  were  called 
away  to  fill  posts  in  the  army,  but  most  of  them  took  copies  of 
the  Bible  in  English  and  Chinese.  The  seed  was  sown :  would 
it  germinate  and  bear  fruit?  They  could  not  yet  preach  the 
gospel  or  open  public  schools ;  still  the  missionaries  did  not  lose 
heart  or  hope.  They  felt  that  they  were  doing  a  necessary  work 
— they  were  laying  the  foundations  on  which  they  themselves, 
and  others  with  them,  should  build  afterward.  They  found 
some  opportunities  in  connection  with  the  government  schools, 
in  >vhich  they  had  been  invited  to  take  part ;  and  Dr.  Hepburn 
was  already  engaged  in  his  great  work  of  preparing  a  Japanese 
and  English  dictionary,  which  he  found  so  exceedingly  difficult, 
but  which  has  been  so  happily  completed  within  recent  years. 
He  was  opening  the  way  for  those  who  should  follow  him.  The 
first  edition  of  this  work  Avas  published  in  1867,  and  in  this  form 
and  in  the  more  complete  work  recently  issued,  has  proved  not 
only  of  great  service  to  our  missionaries,  but  to  all  other  English- 
speaking  missionaries  in  that  land.  With  this  work  finished.  Dr. 
Hepburn  writes  stating  his  strong  conviction  that  the  time  for 
more  direct  Avork  had  come,  and  urges  the  Church  to  increase 
her  force,  so  that  she  may  be  able  to  take  her  place  in  that  work. 
During  the  year  1868  the  mission  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival 
of  Rev.  Edward  Cornes  and  his  wife.  The  field  of  work  was 
gradually  enlarging ;  the  missionaries  enjoyed  freer  intercourse 
with  the  people,  and  their  knowledge  of  the  language  enabled 
them  to  bring  the  truth  more  perfectly  to  bear  upon  the  hearts 
of  those  with  whom  they  mingled.  In  February,  18()9,  Mr. 
Thompson  was  permitted  to  baptize  three  converts,  two  of  whom 
were  men  of  good  education  and  talent,  and  one,  an  aged  woman. 
Though  all  appeared  intelligent  and  earnest  followers  of  Christ, 
and  although  the  government  had  not  repealed  the  edicts  against 

12=^ 


278  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

Christianity — indeed  had  republished  them  as  soon  as  the  mikado 
asccndiMl  his  throne — tliose  converts  were  not  molested. 

Kev.  C.  Carrotliers  and  his  wife  arrived  in  Japan  in  18(59,  and. 
in  connection  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Comes  and  Mr  Thompson, 
estahlished  a  new  station  at  Yedo  (now  Tokio),  which,  as  the 
capital  of  the  country,  and  the  residence  of  the  court  and  emperor, 
afforded  a  wide  field  of  influence  and  usefnlness.  A  special  fea- 
ture of  the  work,  ^n-owing  in  jirominence  and  interest,  was  the 
number  of  young  men  who  sought  the  acquaintance  and  instruc- 
tion of  the  missionaries,  and  who  were  destined  to  fill  positions 
of  influence  among  their  countrymen — some  of  whom  became 
thoughtful  and  interested  students  of  the  Scriptures. 

The  mission  was  greatly  tried  by  the  sudden  death  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Comes  and  one  of  their  children,  in  August,  1870.  They 
had  just  embarked  on  board  a  steamer  leaving  Yedo  for 
Yokohama,  when  the  boiler  exploded,  and  all  the  family  but  the 
little  babe  were  lost.  It  was  an  inscrutable  providence  which 
removed  them  in  the  midst  of  their  usefulness,  and  when  the 
prosj^ect  before  them  was  so  bright  and  promising. 

In  reviewing  the  work  for  the  year.  Dr.  Hepburn  alludes  to 
his  interesting  Japanese  Bible-class ;  his  dis])ensary  work  ;  the 
translation  of  the  four  Gospels,  now  completed  and  distributed 
among  missionary  brethren  for  criticism  ;  the  English  service  on 
Sabbath  morning;  the  sale  and  distribution  of  Bibles  in  the  Chi- 
nese language,  and  also  a  large  number  of  English  Bibles;  and 
closes  with  the  declaration  of  his  strong  conviction  that  the  time 
had  come  when  more  public  efforts  should  be  tried.  The  Rev. 
Henry  Loomis  and  his  wife  and  the  Rev.  E.  Rothesay  Miller 
joined  the  mission  in  1872. 

From  1859  to  1872  our  missionaries,  with  those  from  other 
churches,  had  been  engaged,  as  we  have  seen,  in  preparatory 
work — in  the  study  of  the  language ;  in  the  dispensaries  and  the 
religious  instruction  connected  with  them ;  in  translating  the 
Scriptures ;  in  teaching  private  classes ;  and  in  the  government 
schools.  During  all  this  period,  there  wjvs  no  regular  stated 
preaching  of  the  gospel  to  a  native  audience.  "  The  missionary 
Boards  were  restless  and  the  missionaries  were  not  satisfied."  The 
edicts  declaring  that  every  one  accepting  the  "  vile  Jesus  doctrine" 
would  be  put  to  death,  were  published  all  over  the  land.  There 
was  no  actual  persecution ;  there  was,  on  the  contrary,  a  general 
belief  that  religious  toleration  would  be  granted.  The  period 
was  one  of  waiting  and  expectation ;  and  although  it  was  true  that 
"  God  led  our  missionaries  into  the  schools,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  entered  Japan  through  the  schools,"  yet  it  was  felt  by  all 
that  this  state  of  things  could  not  and  ought  not  to  continue.     It 


THE   MISSION   IN   JAPAN.  279 

was  time  to  try,  at  least,  the  public  preaching  of  the  gospel  and 
the  regular  methods  of  church  work. 

But  during  these  years  of  waiting  the  missionaries  had  witnessed 
great  events,  and  events  which  were  full  of  hojie.  The  great 
political  revolution  had  been  completed  ;  the  mikado  was  seated 
on  his  throne ;  a  new  policy  was  inaugurated  ;  wiser  hands  were 
holding  the  helm  of  state ;  more  liberal  measures  were  adopted, 
and  the  government,  once  repelling  foreign  intercourse,  now  sought 
eagerly  the  advantages  of  western  commerce  and  civilization. 
They  had  seen  the  departure  and  return  of  that  memorable  Ja])a- 
nese  embassay  to  the  United  States,  and  the  nations  of  western 
Europe.  They  had  seen  that  wonderful  movement  of  students 
from  Japan  to  Europe  and  America,  and  were  feeling  its  results 
in  the  new  life  all  around  them.  Dr.  Ferris,  in  his  paper  at  the 
Mildmay  Conference,  says,  "  Returning  to  my  office  in  New  York 
city  on  a  chilly,  rainy  afternoon  in  the  fall  of  18(i9,  I  found 
awaiting  me  a  plain  man  and,  as  I  supposed,  two  young  Chinamen. 
It  proved  to  be  the  captain  of  a  sailing  vessel  and  two  Japanese 
young  men,  eighteen  and  twenty  years  old.  They  presented  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Verbeck  (a  missionary  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  Japan),  stating  that  they  were  of  good 
family  and  worthy  of  attention.  They  said  that  they  had  come 
to  learn  navigation  and  how  to  make  '  big  ships  and  big  guns.' 
They  had  left  Japan  without  the  consent  of  the  government,  and 
their  lives  were  forfeited.  The  young  men  were  well  connected, 
and  through  the  influence  of  their  family  and  the  missionaries, 
they  obtained  permission  to  remain  in  the  United  States.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  movement  which  has  brought  some  five 
hundred  Japanese  youth  to  the  schools  of  this  country,  and  as 
many  more  to  the  schools  of  Europe."  Every  one  can  understand 
how  much  it  has  had  to  do  with  the  marvellous  progress  of  Japan. 
It  was  very  influential  in  originating  and  maintaining  a  system  of 
common  schools  similar  to  that  of  the  United  States,  which  at  the 
time  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia,  embraced  over 
thirty  thousand  schools  and  over  three  million  children  under 
their  instruction  The  influence  of  missionary  work  is  wide- 
reaching  and  effective.  It  does  good  even  where  we  are  not 
looking  for  it.  Its  incidental  fruits  are  precious.  These  years  of 
patient  labor  and  waiting  were  not  in  vain. 

But  now  the  set  time  to  favor  Japan  had  fully  come.  The 
new  order  of  things  was  established.  Some  of  the  statesmen  con- 
nected with  the  government  had  been  pupils  of  the  missionaries. 
Others  had  been  educated  in  this  country.  A  liberal  policy  was 
inaugurated ;  all  connection  of  the  state  with  any  form  of  religion 
ceased ;    the  signboards  denouncing  Christianity  Avere  removed. 


280  HISTORICAL  SKETCH    OF 

and  toU'ration  for  all  forms  of  religion  became  practically,  though 
not  fornialiy,  the  law  of  the  hind.  The  calendar  was  ehani;ed  to 
eonlurni  witii  that  in  Uf^e  among  western  nations,  Including  the 
xveekly  day  of  nst. 

The  Japanese  Church  was  born  in  prayer.  In  January,  1872, 
tlie  missionaries  at  Yokohama,  and  Knglisli-speaking  residents 
of  all  ilenominations,  united  in  the  observance  of  the  week  of 
l)rayer.  Some  Japanese  students  connected  with  the  private 
ehisses  taught  by  the  missionaries  were  present  through  curiosity 
or  througli  a  desire  to  please  their  teachers,  and  some  perhaps 
from  a  true  interest  in  Christianity.  It  was  concluded  to  read  the 
book  of  Acts  in  coui*sc  day  by  day,  and,  that  the  Japanese  present 
might  take  part  intelligently  in  the  service,  the  Scripture  of  the 
day  was  translated  extemj)oraneously  into  their  language.  The 
meetings  grew  in  interest,  and  were  continued  from  week  to  week 
until  the  end  of  February.  After  a  week  or  two,  the  Jaj)ancse, 
for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  nation,  were  on  their  knees 
in  a  Christian  prayer-meeting,  entreating  God  with  great  emo- 
tion, with  the  tears  streaming  down  their  faces,  that  He  would 
give  His  Spirit  to  Jajjan,  as  to  the  early  Church  and  to  the 
j)eoi)le  around  the  apostles.  These  prayers  were  characterized 
by  intense  earnestne^ss.  Captains  of  men-of-war,  English  and 
American,  who  witnessed  the  scene,  said,  "The  prayers  of  these 
Japanese  take  the  heart  out  of  us."  The  missionary  in  charge 
often  feared  that  he  would  faint  away,  "  so  intense  w^as  the 
feeling."  Such  was  the  first  Ja])anese  prayer-meeting.  A 
church  was  organized  by  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown,  a  missionary  of 
the  Reformed  Church,  consisting  of  eleven  members.  It  grew 
rai)idly  in  numbers,  and  its  members  were  not  only  consistent, 
but  in  many  cases  gave  unmistakable  signs  of  growth  in  grace. 
The  missionaries  of  the  Reformed  Church  and  our  own  brethren 
had  labored  side  by  side,  and  were  now  rejoicing  in  this  first 
fruit  of  their  common  toil.  For  a  part  of  the  time,  indeed,  Mr. 
Thompson  had  charge  of  the  church.  Everything  now  wore  a 
cheering  aspect.  The  missionaries  give  an  outline  of  their  work 
as  follows :  "  Necessary  books  have  been  prepared,  portions  of 
Scripture  have  been  translated,  printed,  and  to  some  extent  cir- 
culated, schools  have  l)een  kept  up  and  well  attended,  tracts  and 
works  of  elementary  Christian  instruction  are  in  process  of  pre- 
[)aration,  and  a  church  organized."  They  were  looking  forward 
to  a  constant  and  rapid  growth  in  years  to  come.  Their  hopes 
were  not  unfi)unded.  From  this  time  the  ])rogre.s  hivs  been  rapid. 

This  year  (1^72)  was  marked  also  by  the  entrance  of  women's 
societies  into  this  field  of  Christian  work.  The  claims  of  their 
Japanese  sisters  awakened  a  deep  interest  in  the  hearts  of  our 


THE   MISSION    IN   JAPAN,  281 

women.  A  home  for  single  women  in  Tokio  was  estal^lished  l)y 
the  Ladies'  Board  in  New  York,  needed  buildings  were  furnished 
and  teachei-s  supported ;  and  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  in  Philadelphia  took  under  their  care  Mrs.  Dr.  Hepburn 
at  Yokohama,  and  Mrs.  Loomis  and  Mrs.  Carrothers  in  Tokio, 
and  were  looking  forward  with  eagerness  and  hope  to  a  larger 
share  in  the  Christian  work  in  that  empire. 

Two  native  churches,  in  Yokohama  and  Tokio,  were  organized 
in  the  following  year,  ])artly  through  the  })reaching  and  personal 
influence  of  our  missionaries ;  but  they  did  not  connect  them- 
selves with  the  Presbytery  which  was  organized  in  December  of 
that  year.  Rev.  Oliver  M.  Green  and  the  Misses  Youngman 
and  Gamble,  gave  needed  strength  to  the  mission,  and  the  whole 
work  of  translating  the  Scriptures,  dispensary  practice,  teaching 
and  preaching  was  carried  vigorously  forward. 

In  1874  the  mission  received  signal  marks  of  the  divine  favor. 
The  schools  were  in  a  flourishing  state,  and  doing  eflicient  ser- 
vice. Children  and  youth  were  grounded  in  the  knowledge  and 
faith  of  the  Bible.  Two  churches  were  regularly  organized  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery,  the  one  in  Yokohama  and  the  other 
in  Tokio — the  former  consisting  of  twenty-three  members,  all  on 
profession  of  faith,  and  the  latter  of  twenty-three  also,  of  whom 
sixteen  were  received  on  their  confession  of  Christ.  Each  of 
these  churches  was  represented  in  Presbytery  by  a  native  elder, 
and  soon  after  their  reception,  eight  young  men  applied  to  be 
taken  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  as  candidates  for  the 
ministry.  After  due  examination  they  were  received,  and 
arrangements  were  made  for  their  training  for  the  work.  Besides 
these  churches,  Mr.  Thompson  was  acting  as  the  j^astor  of  one  of 
the  independent  churches,  and  had  received  about  forty  into  the 
communion  of  the  church  during  the  year.  The  very  success  of 
the  work  imposed  new  burdens  upon  the  brethren.  The  theo- 
logical class  required  constant  care  and  instruction.  It  was  easy 
to  see  that  much  would  depend  for  the  future  upon  the  qualifica- 
tions and  piety  of  the  native  ministry.  The  care  of  the  churches 
now  organized,  but  as  yet  without  native  pastors,  was  heavy  and 
constant.  The  schools,  mainly  under  the  care  of  the  women's 
societies,  called  for  new  workers  and  new  appliances,  in  response 
to  which  Mrs.  Carrothers'  school  at  Tokio  was  placed  upon  a 
new  basis  by  the  prompt  and  liberal  action  of  the  Philadelphia 
Society.  A  lot  w'as  purchased  and  funds  for  a  suitable  building 
promised,  so  that  this  school  might  be  thoroughly  equipped  for 
its  work — a  work  which  cannot  be  overestimated  in  its  relation 
to  the  moral  purification  and  elevation  of  Japanese  women,  and 
is  second  only  in  importance  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 


282  HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF 

While  the  mission  was  reduced  in  innnbci*s  by  the  transfer  of 
some  of  its  menihcrs  to  other  evangelical  missiims  in  Japan,  and 
by  the  return  to  this  country  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loomis  on  account 
of  ill  health,  it  wa.s  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Kev.  W.  Lnbrie 
and  his  wife  from  this  country,  and  by  the  aj)i)ointnient  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  J.  C  liallagh,  who  were  already  in  Japan.  The  native 
churches  were  not  only  growing  in  numbei"s,  but,  what  is  of 
greater  moment,  they  were  manifesting  a  readiness  to  every 
Christian  work — sustaining  the  weekly  prayer-meetings,  and,  in 
connection  with  the  candidates  for  the  ministry,  keeping  up 
])reaching-stations  which  have  in  them  apparently  the  germs  and 
])romise  of  separate  Christian  churches.  The  church  at  Tokio 
began  at  once  to  send  out  its  offshoots  in  small  nuclei  of  C'hris- 
tians,  gathered  in  other  parts  of  the  great  capital,  and  in  adjoin- 
ing towns,  which  were  one  after  another  organized  into  churches. 
The  fire  wa8  spreading  in  all  directions 

In  1876  the  report  of  the  missionaries  refere  to  a  movement  on 
the  part  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Scotch  United  Presbyterian 
('hurch,  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  and  our  own  brethren 
holding  a  common  faith  and  occupying  the  same  field,  which 
looked  to  the  adoj)tion  of  the  same  standard  of  faith,  order  and 
worship,  and  to  a  closer  union  in  church  work.  It  was  a  most 
important  step,  and  luxa  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  inde- 
pendent, self-governing  Japanese  Church,  in  which  the  missiona- 
ries are  only  advisory  members.  It  was  the  fruit  of  a  tendency 
which  has  impressed  the  minds  of  all  the  brethren  in  the  field,  and 
which  should  impress  all  the  friends  of  mission  work  in  the  Church. 
Dr.  Ilepbuin  says,  "One  feature  of  the  w'ork  here  is  of  urgent 
interest.  Whatever  is  done  by  our  Church  should  be  done  soon. 
In  one  generation  hence,  foreign  missionaries  will  not  be  nuich 
needed  in  Japan.  The  natives  will  push  them  iu-^ide  and  do  the 
work  themselves."  It  is  a  healthy  jealousy  of  foreign  influence 
which  leads  to  independent  labor  and  organization,  but  it  shows 
what  care  is  needed  now  to  shape  the  character  of  these  jealous 
native  Christians,  and  to  give  their  energies  a  right  direction. 

This  incipient  union  was  consummated  in  the  following  year, 
and  the  plan  proposed  was  to  be  referred  to  the  highest  court  of 
each  of  the  denominations  for  approval.  The  union  thus  formed 
constitutes  the  strongest  body  of  Christians  in  Japan,  has  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  theological  seminary,  with  which  Mr.  Imbrie  is 
connected,  and  had  then  (1877)  no  less  than  thirty  young  men 
under  instruction  and  training  for  the  ministry.  Tlie  mission  that 
year  received  an  important  accession  of  seven  missionaries — Kev. 
Messrs.  Knox,  Alexander  and  Winn  and  their  wives  and  Miss 
Eidred — and  two  native  ordained  ministers ;  and  was  more  fully 


THE   MISSION    IN   JAPAN.  283 

equipped  for  its  work,  and  more  hopeful  as  it  looked  forward  to 
the  future.  There  were  great  difficulties,  it  is  true ;  there  were 
reixsons  for  solicitude  in  the  animus  and  course  of  the  government ; 
but,  on  the  whole,  the  situation  was  full  of  promise.  New  churches 
were  constantly  added  to  the  li.^t,  and  the  older  ones  were  growing 
in  numbers  and  in  healthy  Christian  work  ;  the  schools  were 
vigorous,  well  attended,  partially  self-supporting,  and  rendered 
most  efficient  aid.  The  translation  of  the  New  Testament  Scrip- 
tures, now  in  the  hands  of  Drs.  Hepburn  and  Brown  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Green,  was  steadily  progressing  towards  completion  ;  and 
additions  were  made  of  well-qualified  men  to  the  native  ministry. 

In  1879  a  new  station  was  formed  at  KanazaAva,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles  southwest  from  Tokio,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Winn  and  Mrs.  True  were  transferred  to  that  station.  An  im- 
portant field  is  opening  there,  and  Mr.  Winn  enters  upon  his  labors 
with  great  hopes  of  success.  The  schools,  in  which  so  many  of 
our  missionaries  are  employed,  are  not  only  growing  iu  interest, 
but  are  felt  to  be  more  important  every  day  from  their  relation 
to  the  government  schools,  in  which  no  religious  instruction  is 
given.  Whatever  is  to  be  done  for  the  religious  instruction  of 
the  young,  must  be  done  in  mission  schools,  and  of  course  at  the 
expense  of  missionary  time  and  labor. 

In  1880  the  missionaries  were  permitted  to  rejoice  in  the  com- 
pleted translation  of  the  New  Testament.  It  was  a  great  satisfac- 
tion to  the  able  senior  member  of  our  mission,  that  he  was  spared 
to  put  the  finishing  touch  to  this  great  work.  It  bids  fair  to  take 
rank  among  the  best  translations  ever  made.  Great  progress  has 
been  made  also  in  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  Japanese  will  have  the  entire 
Word  of  God  in  their  own  tongue.  Dr.  Hepburn  has  also  trans- 
lated and  published  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and,  in  connection 
with  a  native  pastor,  the  Book  of  Discipline.  The  Theological 
Seminary,  in  which  Mr.  Imbrie,  of  our  Church,  has  the  chair  of 
New  Testament  exegesis,  is  prosperous  and  efficient.  Our  mission 
has  twelve  students  for  the  ministry  there,  in  the  diflferent  stages 
of  progress,  most  of  whom,  while  prosecuting  their  studies  dili- 
gently, have  been  actively  engaged  in  teaching  and  preaching. 
A  good,  substantial  building  has  also  been  erected  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  institution.  Two  new  churches  have  been  organized 
— one  on  the  far-away  island  of  Kiushiu  and  the  other  in  the  city 
of  Shimonoseki,  at  the  western  extremity  of  Nij^hon  or  Hondo. 
The  church  at  Yokohama,  under  the  care  of  Rev.  George  W. 
Knox,  has  introduced  and  carried  out  a  plan  of  systematic  giving, 
and  a  strong  effort  is  being  made  to  get  the  churches  as  near  the 
standard  of  self-support  as  possible. 


284 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 


"  But  the  most  liopeful  sign  in  connection  with  the  native 
Church  is  its  missionary  spirit.  The  church  in  Kiriu,  to  the 
northwest  of  Tokio,  owes  its  existence  to  the  hibors  of  native 
evangelists.  The  church  at  Kiushiu  grew  up  under  the  hand  of 
a  native  helper  not  yet  licensed.  More  than  eighteen  months 
ago  two  of  our  native  brethren  volunteered  to  go  to  Shimonoseki 
and  preach  the  gospel ;  and  to-day,  by  the  ble.<aing  of  God,  there 
is  a  Christian  church  in  that  hotbed  of  bigotry,  prejudice  and 
Buddhism.  When  Mr.  Winn  decided  to  go  to  the  '  interior,' 
there  was  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  native  hel|)er  to  go  Avith  him. 
Now  there  is  in  Kanazawa  a  company  of  nineteen  believers 
organized  into  a  church.  A  few  months  ago  a  young  man  whose 
health  made  it  necessary  that  he  should  leave  Tokio  came  to  the 
missionaries  and  offered  to  go  into  the  interior  and  preach  as  long 
as  the  Lord  would  give  him  strength.  He  is  now  located  in 
^  amaguchi,  and  a  blessed  work  is  growing  up  around  him.  It 
is  enough  to  make  the  Christian's  heart  beat  fast  to  see  churches 
springing  up  through  the  labors  of  these  native  brethren,  and  in 
these  strongholds  of  Satan." 

During  all  these  years  from  1872,  the  woman's  work  has  been 
prosecuted  with  great  patience  and  faith,  and  not  without  blessed 
fruits.  These  faithful  workers  have  not  only  filled  a  large  place 
in  the  schools,  but  in  their  personal  intercourse  with  the  women 
of  Japan,  and  by  religious  services  held  among  them,  have  done 
much  for  those  who  so  greatly  need  their  Christian  love  and  help. 
Two  girls'  boarding-schools  are  now  established  in  Tokio  in  con- 
nection with  the  Presbyterian  mission — one  in  Tsukiji,  the  foreign 
concession,  and  the  other  at  Bancho,  in  the  native  city;  and  some 
who  were  pupils  in  the  first  mission  schools  oi)ened  are  now  hel])ful 
Christian  teachers  in  these  schools,  and  as  Bible  women  among 
their  own  people.  At  Yokohama  there  are  day-schools  of  great 
present  efficiency  and  future  promise,  and  the  activity  of  the 
native  Christian  women  there,  in  extending  the  knowledge  of  the 
gospel,  is  very  remarkable. 

In  IMfSl  the  mission  was  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  Rev.  J. 
B.  Porter,  Miss  I.  A.  Leete,  MLss  Lena  Leete  and  jNIiss  Mary  L. 
Reede.  The  occupation  of  Osaka  as  a  mission  station  received 
the  sanction  of  the  Board,  and  the  Rev.  T.  Alexander  and  his 
wife  were  transferred  to  that  station.  A  vigorous  church  was 
j)lanted  in  Kanazawa,  which  the  brethren  regarded  as  very  impor- 
tant, both  from  its  position,  and  from  the  zeal  and  consecration  of 
its  members.  The  need  for  Evangelistic  work  was  deeply  felt, 
and  arrangements  were  made  so  that  some  of  the  brethren  could 
devote  themselves  more  exclusively  to  that  work.  Tlie  native 
brethren,  pastors,  evangelists,  and  lay  helpers  were  faithful  and 


THE  MISSION   IN  JAPAN.  285 

efficient.  The  boys'  college  or  night  school  in  Tokio,  and  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  were  both  in  a  properous  condition, 
and  the  Sakurai-jo-gakko  school  for  girls  secured  an  ample  building 
for  its  accommodation,  having  about  forty  pupils  in  the  main  school, 
and  the  same  number  nearly  in  two  branch  schools.  The  girls' 
seminary  also  at  Tsukiji  was  full  to  overflowing,  and  these  schools 
were  regarded  as  centres  of  great  influence  and  promise,  from  the 
character  and  social  standing  of  the  pupils,  and  from  the  progress 
made  in  discipline,  methods  of  work  and  self-support.  At  the 
close  of  this  year  the  mission  reported  fifteen  chnrches,  and  a 
membership  of  six  hundred  and  nine. 

During  the  year  1882  the  Rev.  A.  V.  Bryan  and  his  wife,  with 
Misses  Hesser,  Garvin,  Porter,  and  Henry  joined  the  mission, 
which,  while  rejoicing  in  these  new  helpers,  was  called  to  mourn 
the  death  of  Rev.  Oliver  M.  Green.  His  lovely  character,  fine 
talents  and  scholarship,  and  fidelity  to  his  work,  greatly  endeared 
him  to  his  fellow-workers  and  the  Japanese  Christians.  His 
death  was  a  great  loss  to  the  mission. 

The  new  station  at  Osaka,  the  second  city  of  the  empire,  was 
fully  organized  Messrs.  Winn,  Alexander  and  Porter,  with 
Mrs.  Winn  and  Alexander  and  four  single  ladies  were  included 
in  the  mission,  though  some  of  them  were  occupying  places  at 
considerable  distance  from  Osaka.  The  work  for  the  year  was 
much  the  same  as  in  previous  years,  preaching  by  foreign  and 
native  ministers,  teaching  in  the  day  and  boarding-schools,  and 
colportage  by  native  Bible-readers,  both  men  and  women.  The 
number  of  native  laborers  was  increased ;  a  new  church  was 
organized  at  Dai  Machi,  in  Tokio ;  a  Home  Missionary  Society  was 
organized  in  connection  with  three  churches ;  the  spirit  of  liber- 
ality for  Evangelistic  work,  and  for  the  support  of  the  gospel 
among  the  churches  was  encouraged  and  stimulated,  and  new 
fields  of  labor  unexpectedly  opened  to  Christian  workers  were 
brought  under  culture.  The  church  at  Kanazawa  erected  a  neat 
building  for  worship,  free  of  any  expense  to  the  mission.  The 
schools  maintained  by  the  lady  missionaries,  particularly  that  in 
Tokio,  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  True  and  Miss  Davis,  give  very 
favorable  reports. 

A  very  interesting  and  promising  field  is  opening  to  these 
Christian  ladies,  in  the  training  of  Bible-women.  All  the  depart- 
ments of  the  mission  are  in  successful  operation,  and  every  mis- 
sionary occupied  in  his  or  her  appointed  sphere.  The  native 
ministry  are  not  only  earnest  and  devoted,  but  have  proved  them- 
selves, men  that  need  not  be  ashamed,  gifted  and  qualified  for 
their  work  and  successful  in  it. 

The  number  of  churches  has  grown  to  eighteen,  and  the  num- 


286  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

ber  on  the  roll  to  ten  hundred  and  twenty-five ;  and  the  outlook 
is  hopeful. 

In  the  curly  ['art  of  the  year  1883,  the  mission  was  again 
greatly  afllicled  by  the  sudden  death  of  Mrs.  Ballagh,  a  woman 
"  greatly  loved  and  greatly  lamented,"  and  whose  praise  was  in 
all  the  churches  who  were  permitted  to  have  her  with  them. 
Several  new  laborers  were  sent  to  this  field.  Rev.  Messrs.  Fisher, 
MacNair  and  Hearst,  and  their  wives,  Miss  Gumming,  M.  D., 
Miss  West  and  Mi&s  Milliken. 

The  work  of  the  mission  was  carried  on  in  the  usual  lines,  and 
with  marked  encouragement  in  many  places.  The  wide-spread 
and  gracious  visitations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  reaching  all  parts  of 
the  field,  call  for  grateful  notice.  The  usual  fruits  of  such  visita- 
tions in  the  quickened  faith  and  zeal  of  believers,  and  the  steady 
growth  of  the  churches  in  numbers  and  purity,  and  good  works, 
appear  everywhere. 

Among  the  necessary  changes  in  the  distribution  of  the  mis- 
sionary force,  Mr.  Knox  was  elected  to  take  the  place  of  Mr. 
Imbrie  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  arrangements 
were  made  by  which  the  boys'  school  under  the  care  of  Mr.  J.  C 
Ballagh,  should  be  organized  as  a  Union  College,  which  should 
include  among  its  professors  representatives  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Scotland,  and  Reformed  (Dutch)  (Miurch  of 
America,  and  our  own  Church.  The  brethren  speak  of  this  new 
arrangement  with  warm  approval,  and  cherish  sanguine  hopes 
that  it  will  now  prove  of  great  service  to  the  church,  in  training 
its  future  ministry. 

The  girls'  schools  have  been  maintained  with  great  energy  and 
success,  and  the  small  class  for  Bible-women  has  grown  into  an 
organized  training  school  for  that  purpose  under  Miss  Young- 
man's  supervision. 

At  the  Osaka  station  the  work,  though  not  in  the  same  state 
of  progress,  has  been  carried  forward  with  commendable  zeal, 
and  not  without  special  tokens  of  the  divine  favor.  One  of  the 
five  churches  connected  with  this  station,  the  church  at  Yamagu- 
chi,  supports  itself  and  has  its  Home  Missionary  Society.  Mr. 
Alexander  sums  up  the  results  of  the  year's  work: 

1.  The  revival  of  tiie  church  at  Yanagawa. 

2.  The  organization  of  two  new  churches. 

3.  The  addition  of  more  than  fifty  members. 

4.  The  wide-spread  and  growing  influence  of  the  churches.* 

*  Unrin(?  this  year  ooeurred  the  Osaka  Conforftnoc — ntnbranina;  rnpn-sc-iitfttive.s  from 
twMity-two  ditfi-rent  churches  and  Hor-ictics.  It  was  a  remarkahli!  n^itln'riiii:,  mid  the 
papers  n^ad  and  discussed  cover  broad  (;round,  ami  are  nearly  all  tiiarked  by  close 
observation,  lari^e  readiiiK  and  great  ability.  No  one  can  read  the  report  published 
without  bfiinvt  struck  by  the  charactor  of  the  men  doing  the  churches'  work  in  that 
1  and,  and  their  fitness  for  the  work. 


THE  MISSION   IN   JAPAN.  287 

The  year  1884,  marks  the  completion  of  the  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury since  the  mission  was  started.  Just  one-half  of  that  period 
has  been  devoted  to  actual  missionary  work,  the  previous  years 
havinjy  passed  in  the  preparation  for  work — when  the  Lord 
should  lead  the  cliurch  into  the  field.  It  may  be  well  at  such  a 
time  to  turn  our  thoughts  from  the  daily  routine  of  mission 
work,  and  see  what  God  has  wrought.  At  the  Eleventh  Annual 
Meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  of  Japan,  Jan.  10th,  1884, 
the  president  said,"  In  1859,  converts  none — now,  B,598 ;  con- 
tributions then  none — now,  yen,  16,166.*  There  were  then  no 
copies  of  the  Serijiture — now,  in  1883  alone,  there  are  57,593  parts 
of  the  Bible,  and  20,368  Bibles  or  Testaments.  At  that  time  there 
were  120  religious  books  or  tracts — now,  a  total,  149,427.  Two 
weekly  papers  with  a  circulation  of  2000,  and  two  monthly, 
of  2700  each."  There  are  now  about  one  hundred  Evangelical 
Churches  in  Japan  ;  about  twenty  of  them  self-supporting;  about 
ten  others  who  receive  no  foreign  aid.  There  are  schools  and 
colleges,  and  a  theological  seminary — a  rapidly  growing  Christian 
literature.  The  whole  New  Testament  and  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  widely  circulated.!  To  quote  the  words  of  Rev. 
Wm.  Knox,  "  Under  the  circumstances  in  which  our  mission 
work  began,  who  would  have  expected  to  see  so  soon  a  Presby- 
terian Synod  with  three  Presbyteries,  and  more  than  three  thou- 
sand members?  Thus,  God's  blessing  exceeds  our  hope  and  faith. 
With  His  continued  blessing,  another  twenty-five  years  will  see 
Foreign  Mission  work  complete,  and  the  home  missionary  and 
native  Church,  carrying  to  triumphant  issue,  the  work  it  first 
began." 

We  cannot  close  this  meagre  sketch  of  what  our  Church  has 
done  in  this  interesting,  important  and  promising  field,  without 
reminding  our  readers  that  while  there  is  so  much  to  cheer  and 
encourage  Christian  hearts  in  the  past  history ;  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  work;  in  the  comparative  freedom  of  the 
Japanese  from  strong  predilections  or  attachments  to,  other 
systems ;  in  the  character  and  type  of  piety  of  the  native  Christ- 
ians ;  in  the  tendency  to  self-reliance  and  support ;  in  the  enthu- 
siasm and  self-denial  and  zeal  with  which  they  enter  upon 
mission  work  ;  and  in  the  favoring  providence  of  God,  controlling 
and  shaping  the  plans  of  the  rulers  of  the  nation,  and  its  material 
progress, — there  are  also  serious  difficulties  and  hindrances  which 
the  Church  must  meet  and  overcome.     It  is  probable  that  the 

*  These  statistics  do  not  include  the  last  year,  so  fruitful  in  great  gains.  The  yen 
is  about  85  cents. 

fThe  translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  through  the  indefatigable  labors  of  Dr.  Hep- 
burn, carried  on  so  patiently  and  wisely,  approaches  completion.  It  will  probably  be 
completed  during  the  next  year. 


288  HISTORICAL   SKKTCn    OF 

hindrance  <rrowin<;  ont  of  the  history  of  the  Jesuit  mission  has 
been  already  removed,  The  intelligent  Japanese  statesmen 
doubtless  see  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  efforts  and  growth  of 
Protestant  evangelical  missions  to  imperil  the  stability  of  the 
government.  The  human  heart  in  Japan  is  no  more  opposed  to 
the  gospel,  or  inaccessil)le  to  it,  than  it  is  elsewhere.  ]^ut  the  same 
tendency  in  the  Japanese  mind  which  leads  it  to  listen  to  the 
gosj)el,  lays  it  open  to  other  and  hurtful  teachings.  The  govern- 
ment schools  in  every  grade  are  essentially  irreligious.  Rational- 
istic and  infidel  teachings  are  not  discouraged  by  the  authorities; 
and  there  is  no  general  (Christian  sentiment  counteracting  their 
influence.  There  is  something  fearful  in  tlie  fact  that  three  million 
children — the  whole  rising  generation — are  reared  and  cultured 
under  such  influences.  The  ru.^h  and  whirl  of  events,  the  ra])id 
and  wonderful  ]x)litical  and  social  changes,  the  eagerness  with 
which  the  great  body  of  tlie  people  are  ])ressing  into  new  pui*suits 
and  a  new  life,  are  not  altogether  favorable  to  the  healthy  and 
sure  spread  of  the  gospel.  The  Greek  and  Koman  Churches,  too, 
are  busy.  The  Holy  Synod  of  Russia  makes  liberal  grants  year 
by  year  for  its  mission  work  in  Ja])an,  and  sends  out  its  mission- 
aries under  instruction  from  the  czai-,  and  in  his  vessels  of  war. 
Rome  has  already  her  three  bishops  and  her  numerous  bands  of 
priests  and  nuns,  and  backed  by  the  ])ower  of  the  French,  hojies 
to  regain  her  lost  position.  It  is  with  these  materialistic  and 
skeptical  forces,  with  these  false  forms  of  Christianity,  as  well  as 
with  heathen  supei-stitions  and  degradation,  that  the  Church  must 
contend.  There  is  nothing  to  dishearten  in  such  a  jirospect,  but 
enough  to  drive  the  Church  to  prayer,  to  make  her  feel  the  need 
of  greater  consecration  to  Christ  and  of  greater  zeal  and  ertbrts 
in  His  service,  to  lead  her  back  to  the  source  of  all  her  strength 
in  God,  and  then  lead  her  on  to  win  this  empire  for  Him. 


MISSIONARIES  IN  JAPAN,  1886. 

ToKio  Mission. 

Yokohama  :  On  the  bay,  a  few  miles  below  Yedo,  or  Tokio ; 
mission  begun,  1859;  James  C.Hepburn,  M.D.,  and  his  wife; 
Miss  Carrie  T.  Alexander  and  Miss  Annie  P.  West. 

Tokio:  The  capital  of  Japan;  station  occupied,  1860;  Rev. 
Messrs.  David  Thompson,  William  Imbrie,  D.  D.,  George  AV. 
Knox,  James  M.  McCauley,  Arthur  V.  Bryan,  and  Theodore 


THE   MISSION    IN   JAPAN. 


289 


MacNair,  and  their  wives ;  Mr.  John  C.  Ballagh  and  his  wife, 
Mrs.  Maria  C.  True,  Miss  Kate  C.  Youngman,  Miss  Sarah  C. 
Smith,  Miss  Anna  K.  Davis,  Miss  Isabella  A.  Leete,  Miss  Lena 
Leete,  Miss  Mary  L.  Reede,  Miss  Annie  P.  Ballagh,  Miss  Bessie 
P.  ]\Iilliken. 

Osaka  Mission. 

Kanazawa  :  On  the  Japan  Sea,  about  180  miles  northwest  of 
Yedo ;  station  occupied,  1879 ;  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Winn,  Rev. 
James  B.  Porter,  and  their  wives;  Miss  Francina  Porter  and 
Miss  Mary  K.  Hesser. 

Osaka:  A  seaport  in  the  Island  of  Niphon,  33  mil&s  from 
Miako;  station  occupied,  1881;  Rev.  Messrs.  Thomas  T.  Alex- 
ander, Charles  M.  Fisher,  and  John  P.  Hearst,  and  their  wives ; 
Miss  Ann  Eliza  Garvin,  and  Miss  Antoinette  Warner. 


MissiONAEiEs  IN  Japan,  1859-1886. 

♦Died.    Figures,  Term  of  Service  in  the  Field. 


Alexander,  Rev.  T.  T., 
Alexander,  Mrs., 
Alexander,  Miss  C.  T., 
Ballagh,  Mr.  J.  C, 
«Ballagh,  Mrs.  L.  E., 
Ballagh,  Mrs., 
Ballagh,  Miss  A.  P., 
Bryan,  Rev.  A.  V., 
Bryan,  Mrs., 

Carrothers,  Rev.  Cornelius, : 
Carrothers,  Mrs.  Julia  D., 
*"Cornes,  Rev.  Edward, 
•Cornes,  Mrs., 
Davis,  Miss  A.  K., 
Eldred,  Miss  C.  E., 
Fisher,  Rev.  C.  M., 
Fisher,  Mrs., 
Gamble,  Miss  A.  M., 
Garvin,  Miss  A.  E., 
*Green,  Rev.  O.  M., 
Gulick,  Miss  F., 
Hearst,  Rev.  J.  P., 
Hearst,  Mrs., 
Henry,  Miss  M.  E., 
Hepburn,  J.  C.  (M.D.), 
Hepburn,  Mrs., 
Hesser,  Miss  M.  K., 
Imbrie,  Rev.  William, 
Imbrie,  Mrs., 


1877- 

Knox,  Rev.  G.  W., 

1877- 

1877- 

Knox,  Mrs., 

1877- 

1880- 

Leete,  Miss  Isabella  A., 

1881- 

1875- 

Leete,  Miss  Lena, 

1881- 

1875-1884 

Loomis,  Rev.  Henry, 

1872-1876 

1885- 

Loomis,  Mrs., 

1872-1876 

1884- 

McCauley,  Rev.  J.  M., 

1880- 

1882- 

McCauIey,  Mrs., 

1880- 

1882- 

McNair,  Rev.  T.  M., 

1883- 

1869-1875 

McNair,  Mrs., 

1883- 

1869-1875 

Mecartney,  Miss  E., 

1884-1885 

1868-1870 

Marsh,  Miss  Bella, 

1876-1879 

1868-1870 

Miller,  Rev.  E.  R., 

1872-1875 

1880- 

Milliken,  Miss  B.  D., 

1884- 

1877-1880 

Porter,  Rev.  James  B., 

1881- 

1883- 

Porter,   Mrs.   (Miss  Cum- 

1883- 

mings,  M.D.,  1883-), 

1884- 

1873-1875 

Porter,  Mrs.  H., 

1882- 

1882- 

Reede,  Miss  W.  L., 

1881- 

1873-1882 

Smith,  Miss  S.  C, 

1880- 

1876-1879 

Thompson,  Rev.  David, 

1863- 

1884- 

Thompson,  Mrs.  (Miss  M.  C. 

1884- 

Parke,  1873-), 

1873- 

1882-1883 

True,  Mrs.  M.  T., 

1876- 

1859- 

Warner,  Miss  A., 

1885- 

1859- 

West,  Miss  A.  B., 

1883- 

1882- 

Winn,  Rev.  T.  C. 

1878- 

1875- 

Winn,  Mrs., 

1878- 

1875- 

Youngman,  Miss  K.  M. 

1873- 

290         HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF  THE   MISSION    IN   JAPAN. 

Books  of  Reference. 

"  History  of  Japan."    F.  O.  Adams. 

"  Japan  in  our  Day."     Bayard  Taylor. 

"  Tlie  Mikado's  Empire."     William  Elliot  Griffis. 

"  Tlie  Sunri-ste  Kingdom."     Mrs.  J.  I).  Carrothers. 

"Japan,  Historical  and  Descriptive."     C.  H.  Eden. 

"  Art  and  Art  Indu.stries  of  Japan."     Sir  R.  Aleock. 

"  The  Capital  of  the  Tycoon."     Sir  Rutherford  Aleock. 

"  Life  and  .\dventure  in  Japan."     E.  Warren  Clarke. 

"  The  Great  Conquest "  (chapter  xxiii).     F.  F.  Elliuwood. 

"Japan."    Samuel  Mossman. 

"  Unbeaten  Tracks  in  Japan."     Isabella  L.  Bird. 


I 


am. 


Rev.  L.  W.  ECKARD,  D.D. 


MISSION  IN  KOREA. 


Korea,  long  a  recluse,  has  unbarred  her  doors,  and  permits^ 
hei-self,  at  last,  to  be  greeted  by  other  civilizations.  The  tradi- 
tional policy  has  been  that  of  strict  isolation,  made  possible  by 
geographical  position.  China  has  indeed  exercised  a  suzerainty 
over  the  land.  The  martial  prowess  of  Japan  has  triumphed 
there,  and  for  a  brief  season  maintained  a  certain  supremacy. 
The  zeal  of  Papal  Propagandism  has  carried  Rome's  banner 
beyond  the  border  barriers,  and  planted  it  successfully  in  the 
interior  of  the  Kingdom.  But  these  exceptional  instances  only 
prove  the  rule,  so  sternly  enforced,  that  Korea  should  remain 
silent,  and  be  kept  quite  separate  from  the  world's  sisterhood 
of  States.  History  is  made  rapidly  in  our  day.  A  few  years 
have  witnessed  a  marvellous  change  in  this  Sphinx  of  the  nations. 
Her  petrified  form  has  awakened  at  the  voice  of  French  and 
American  cannon,  and  thrilled  at  the  sight  of  the  white  wings  of 
commerce.  Soon  her  wan  countenance  shall  be  illumined  with 
the  brightness  and  beauty  of  Christ's  religion,  already  carried  to 
her  threshold,  and  urged  upon  her  acceptance.  Miracles  are  still 
being  wrought. 

AREA   AND   BOUNDARIES. 

Korea  consists  of  a  stretch  of  Peninsular  mainland,  together 
with  numerous  adjacent  and  inhabited  islands.  The  entire  terri- 
tory covers  80,000  square  miles,  which  is  comprised  between  the 
34th  and  43d  parallels  of  north  latitude;  and  the  125°  and  129° 
of  east  longitude.  Its  physical  configuration  somewhat  conforms 
to  that  of  Italy.  The  coast  line  is  1740  miles.  On  the  north 
flow  the  rivers  Ya-lu  and  Tu-men,  which  divide  Korea  from 
Mantchuria.  Southward  and  westward  are  the  turbid  waters  of 
the  Yellow  Sea.  The  eastern  boundary  is  the  sea  of  Japan,  as 
attractive  as  it  is  treacherous ;  across  whose  ferry  of  300  miles  the 
clustered  groups  of  the  "  Sunrise  Land  "  appear.  So  much  for 
its  natural  limitations.     As  regards  its 

GENERAL   ASPECT 

it  can  only  be  described  as  diversified.     A  mountainous  chain 
traverses  the  extreme  length    by  a  tortuous  course,  and  termi- 
nates only  with  the  sea.     East  of  this  range  lip  three  of  tlie  eight 
13  293 


294  nisTOKicAL  skktcii  of 

provinces  into  which  the  country  is  divided.  A  picturestiue 
irregularity — at  times  positive  grandeur — is  characteristic  of  tliis 
section  ;  but  only  one  river  of  importance  is  met  with  ;  while  the 
soil  is  less  fertile,  the  climate  less  agreeable,  and  the  coast  more 
repellant  than  on  the  opposite  side.  The  "  West  End  "  tinds 
fav()r  in  Korea  as  elsewhere.  Five  fine  rivers;  abundant  coast 
facilities ;  naturally  good  soil,  and  more  genial  climatic  condi- 
tions arc  sufficient  arguments  in  its  favor.  To  these  advantages 
must  be  added  the  attractions  of  the  outlying  Archipelago ;  a 
wonder-world  to  the  naturalist,  a  revelation  to  the  tourist,  and 
destined  to  become,  when  its  resources  are  developed,  a  source 
of  immense  revenue  to  the  Parent  State.  Language  can  oidy 
inadequately  describe  what  is  seen  amidst  the  intricacies  of  these 
unnumbered  islands — large  and  small.  Some  are  mere  columns, 
weird  and  worn,  against  which  the  waves  beat,  and  in  whose 
crevices  the  sea  birds  find  shelter.  Others,  more  extensive,  seem 
as  j)leasant  garden  spots,  where  a  score  of  men  or  the  same  numl)er 
of  families  find  support.  And  here  and  there  rise  veritable 
mountains — one  of  which  is  2000  feet  high — 

"With  slippery  brinks,  and  solitudes  of  snow  ; 
And  granite  bleakness,  where  the  Vulture  screams; 
And  stormy  pines,  that  wrestle  with  the  breath 
Of  every  tempest." 

The  Muscovite  knows  the  value  of  and  envies  these  possessions. 
China — but  eighty  miles  from  the  nearest  point — is  a  standing 
menace  to  their  security.  But  they  shall  yet  be  laid  at  the  feet 
of  Him  for  whom  "  the  isles  are  waiting." 

In  the  matter  of 

TEMPERATURE 

we  are  dependent  for  our  chief  information  on  the  reports  of 
Jesuit  missionaries  who  from  time  to  time  have  secured  a  transient 
foothold  in  Korea.  The  winters — u^)  toward  the  Mantcluirian 
frontier,  are  of  course  very  severe — even  more  so  than  the  latitude 
would  naturally  indicate.  Further  south,  the  climate  has  a  range 
similar  to  that  met  with  in  America,  between  the  New  England 
and  Gulf  States.  The  rainfall  is  apt  to  be  excessive,  and  harsh 
and  persistent  winds  prevail  in  the  late  autumn.  Yet  the  stalwart 
forms  of  the  natives  would  seem  to  indicate  the  salubriousness  of 
the  air,  and  the  average  healthfulness  of  the  Kingdom.  Indeed 
the  testimony  is  cumulative  on  this  point. 

THE    I'KODUCTS 

might  be  as  varied  as  within  similar  geographical  limits  in  our 
own  land.     The  Pine  and  the  Palm  each  find  a  congenial  home 


THE   MISSION    IN    KOREA.  295 

in  Korea.  As  a  matter  of  fjict,  agriculture  is  conducted  on 
])rimitive  principles,  and  the  i)eople  are  content  if  they  secure  a 
mere  livelihood  from  the  soil.  Pernicious  laws, — the  out<rro\vth 
of  a  by  no  means  extinct  Feudalism, — tend  to  the  re])ression  of 
private  enterprise — prevent  the  ownership  of  land  ])y  multitudes 
of  the  poorer  classes,  and  contribute  to  the  support  of  large 
estates,  which  generally,  however,  have  lapsed  into  a  condition  of 
inferiority,  if  not  positive  decay.  In  this  particular  the  country 
has  degenerated.  Its  productions  in  the  past  excelled  those  now 
met  with — as  regards  both  quantity  and  quality. 

Beside  the  corn,  millet,  rice,  barley  and  beans  upon  which  the 
people  depend ;  hemp,  cotton,  tobacco,  and  ginger  are  cultivated 
extensively.  Silk  is  also  produced  on  plantations  of  mulberry 
and  "  scrub  "  oak,  grown  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  the  worms. 
There  is  a  sufficient  range  of  fruit ;  apricots,  peaches  and 
melons  are  of  a  fine  quality.  Flowers  are  universally  admired, 
and  cultivated  as  extensively  as  private  means  permit.  The 
wealthier  families  vie  with  each  other  in  chrysanthemum  exhibits 
each  year.  All  the  domestic  animals  with  which  w^e  are  fiimiliar 
are  to  be  had  in  Korea.  A  breed  of  ponies — rivalling  the  Shetland 
in  size — should  make  child-life  there  a  perpetual  joy.  Unfortu- 
nately the  little  animals  are  only  used  as  pack  horses.  Beasts  of 
prey  are  numerous  in  the  mountains. 

Zoologists  meet  here  a  fact  not  yet  explained.  The  exact 
counterpart  of  the  Bengalese  Tiger — the  terror  of  India's  jungles — 
is  found  in  the  northern  provinces,  where  the  thermometer  falls 
to  8°  below  Zero.  The  identical  animal  in  torrid  and  frigid 
lands!  The  writer  can  testify  to  this  identity  from  personal 
observation,  having  seen  one  of  these  splendid  creatures  soon  after 
it  was  shot.  Prof.  Griffis  quotes  approvingly  the  grim  humor 
of  the  Chinese  who  say,  "  Coreans  hunt  the  tiger  half  the  year, 
and  tigers  hunt  Coreans  during  the  other  half"  This,  at  least 
indicates  the  frequency  with  which  these  feline  monsters  are  met. 

HISTORY. 

Korea  calls  herself  4000  years  old.  Legendary  accounts  refer 
us  to  Ki  Tsze,  the  governmental  Father  of  Korea.  He  was  a 
learned  man,  who  acted  as  adviser  to  his  sovereign,  the  Emperor 
of  China.  His  royal  Master,  resenting  some  supposed  interfer- 
ence, cast  him  into  prison.  Here  he  languished  a  while  until 
a  formidable  rebellion  overthrew  the  tyrant  monarch,  and  libera- 
ted those  whom  he  had  unjustly  punished.  Ki  Tsze  was  thus 
freed.  Yet,  although,  owing  them  both  life  and  liberty,  he  refused 
to  abide  with  rebels,  and  collecting  some  like-minded  followers, 


29fi  HISTORICAL    SKKTCH    OF 

nunihoring  tliuusands,  he  led  thorn  to  the  "  regions  beyond,"  and 
paused  oidy  wlion  he  reached  territory  adjacent  to  the  pre-'^ent 
Korean  houndary.  This  he  named  "Chosen,".  Land  of  Morning 
Calm.  The  dynasty  thus  established  was  illustrious,  and,  as 
claimed,  continued  from  1122  B.C.  to  the  fourth  century  before 
the  Christian  era. 

Concerning  the  aborigines  whom  Ki  Tsze  subdued,  we  know 
nothing.  About  194  B.  c.  occurred  the  first  Chinese  concpiest  of 
the  land,  which  wjis  retained  with  some  interruption,  until  107 
B.  c,  when  the  Kingdom,  a.s  such,  was  obliterated  and  the  territory 
"annexed"  to  China,  continuing  thus  for  some  hundreds  of  years. 

The  progenitoi-s  of  the  modern  Koreans,  according  to  the 
authorities,  cited  by  Griffis,were  the  men  of  Fuyu,  a  stalwart  race 
from  Northern  ^lantchuria,  who  wrested  the  Peninsula  prize  from 
the  C'hinese,  and  established  the  Ko  Korai  Kingdom.  Gigantic 
armies  and  flotillas  were  sent  from  China  to  re-as.-jert  and  maintain 
the  supremacy  of  the  Dragon  Flag.  But  in  vain ;  Ave  find  the 
new  kingdom  able  to  maintain  itself  until  at  least  the  seventh  cen- 
tury. While  these  events  were  taking  place,  Chinese  migration, 
diplomacy  and  power  largely  influenced  the  southern  section  of 
the  Peninsula,  which,  however,  lay  outside  of  the  Ko  Korain 
Kingdom.  Sectional  and  foreign  wars  too  numerous  to  recount 
])revailed.  About  the  tenth  century  the  whole  Peninsula  was 
unified  under  the  Government  of  Wang — the  Bismarck  of  his 
day.  The  ensuing  dynasty  comprised  thirty-two  monarchs.  In 
the  fourteenth  century  this  line  was  overthrown  by  Ni  Taijo,  who 
afterwards  received  investiture  as  king.  He  hastened  to  formally 
acknowledge  the  vassalage  of  his  realm  to  Cliina  and  was  conse- 
quently the  recipient  of  greatef^t  honors  from  that  source.  From 
that  time  to  the  present  the  same  dynastic  rule  ha.s  been  continued ; 
this  (1885)  being  its  493d  year  of  existence.  Strictly  speaking, 
however,  the  direct  line  ended  in  1864. 

MENTAL  CULTURE   AND   SOCIAL   HABITS. 

As  is  natural,  the  influence  of  China  has  been  predominating. 
Confucian  classics  are  the  acknowledged  educational  standard. 
The  literati  attempt  no  general  research — but  content  themselves 
with  the  writings  of  the  sages  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  Origin- 
ality of  thought  is  not  encouraged  ;  general  education,  as  we 
understand  it,  is  unknown.  Schools  indeed  are  common,  and 
many  even  of  the  humbler  classes  are  found  in  them ;  yet  the 
great  mass  remain  untaught.  Political  preferment  is  ba.scd  on 
competitive  examination.  Succe&sful  aspirants  receive  diplomas, 
denoting  the  degree  they  have  taken.     Special  institutions  for 


THE   MISSION   IN   KOREA.  297 

instruction  in  astronomy,  medicine,  topography,  laAV,  etc.,  are 
maintained  at  Government  expense  and  are  patronized  by  a 
favored  few.  The  dwellings  of  the  people  are  poor  enough  ; 
many  are  only  reared  of  mud,  thatched  with  straw.  Where 
means  permit,  brick  and  hewn  stone — in  some  instances  finely 
carved — are  used.  Household  apiiliances  and  comforts  are  like 
angelic  visitations — few  and  far  between. 

The  range  of  dress  is  limited,  only  two  materials  being  much 
used — cotton  for  the  poor  and  silk  for  the  wealthy.  That  clean- 
liness which  is  next  to  godliness  is  not  characteristic  of  the 
Koreans.  House  cleaning,  however,  is  gone  through  with  once 
a  month,  which,  is  believed  to  be  an  unparalleled  illustration  of 
woman's  persistence  and  man's  uncomplaining  patience.  Holi- 
days are  common,  and  public  merry-makings  frequent.  Suffi- 
cient data  to  accurately  fix  tlie  approximate  population  is  not  in 
our  possession  ;  probalily  the  Koreans  themselves  could  not  tell. 
Griffis  calls  it  12,000,000,  but  his  conclusion  is  largely  conjec- 
tural, and  quite  wide  of  other  estimates. 

Woman's  status  resembles  that  of  the  sex  in  other  Asiatic 
regions.  Inferiority  is  assumed,  but  practically,  there  is  not  as 
much  harshness  in  her  treatment  as  might  be  supposed,  and 
is  often  asserted.  Under  many  circumstances  women  are  even 
treated  with  respect,  and  are  protected  by  certain  of  the  laws. 

THE   RELIGIONS   OF   KOREA, 

In  the  earlier  ages  an  undefined  superstition  held  sway  over 
the  people.  The  unseen  "  Princes  of  the  Air,"  the  spirits  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  unknown  forces  throughout  space,  "  were 
ignorantly  worshipped."  Neither  in  the  past  or  present  have  the 
Koreans  indulged  in  the  folly  of  denying  a  personal  devil. 
Their  trouble  is  a  belief  in  too  many  devils.  To  them,  the  very 
atmosphere  teems  with  malevolent,  rather  than  benevolent  influ- 
ences. Buddhism,  as  an  exotic  from  India,  was  planted  in 
Korea  about  the  fourth  century.  At  once  it  took  firm  hold,  and 
flourished  as  though  indigenous  to  the  soil.  For  at  least,  ten 
centuries,  it  held  supreme  sway ;  moulding  the  morals,  manners 
and  culture  of  the  realm.  For  four  centuries,  the  tenets  of  Sakya 
Muni,  were  recognised  as  the  established  faith  of  the  Empire. 

No  one  has  yet  given  the  world  an  exhaustive  review  of 
Buddhism.  It  will  never  be  done;  like  the  chameleon  the 
system  changes  color  to  suit  its  surroundings.  The  Buddhism 
of  Siam  is  very  diflferent  from  that  of  Thibet.  As  found  in 
Hindoostan,  numerous  distinctions  separate  it  from  the  Buddhism 
of  Japan.     The  one  point  it  consistently  maintains,  everywhere, 


298  HISTORICAL  sketch  of 

is,  that  this  life  is  full  of  evil,  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessinj;. 
Kxistence  has  no  value  ;  even  death  brings  no  relief  since  it 
introduces  man  to  another  state  of  conscious  existence,  which  is 
as  bad  as  the  present,  perhaps  worse.  Hence,  joy  can  only  come 
by  what  is  called  Nirvana,  a  condition  equivalent  to  non-ex- 
istence or  annihilation.  This  is  the  underlying  thought  upon 
which  the  superstructure  of  Buddhism  is  reared.  Temples  of 
this  faith  are  found  all  through  Korea.  Although  built  in  honor 
of  Buddha  they  really  contain  numerous  gods.  In  some  instances 
several  hundred  lesser  deities  are  ranged  along  the  sides  of  the 
buildings;  these  are  often  made  of  colossal  size,  and,  in  the  cities 
esjjecially,  sometimes  exhibit  artistic  merit.  As  far  as  practicable, 
the  temples  are  on  hill-tops,  and  generally  surrounded  by  groves. 
While  uniformity  of  architecture  is  not  insisted  on — a  certain 
resemblance  is  to  be  traced  in  them  all.  .  Outride  apartments  are 
reared  for  the  priests  who  live  on  the  premises.  These  men  are 
generally  lazy  and  ignorant  fellows,  more  intent  on  a  life  of 
sloth  than  upon  the  advancement  of  their  belief.  The  support 
of  such  establishments  is  voluntar}%  and  often  liberal. 

Worship  consists  in  prostration  and  prayer  before  the  idol, 
burning  incense,  the  jjresentation  of  paper  suitably  inscribed  and 
the  repetition  of  a  formula  which  is  assisted  by  a  rosary  held 
in  the  hand,  and  on  which  the  count  is  kept.  At  present  Budd- 
hism in  Korea  is  on  the  wane. 

As  superceding  grosser  forms  of  belief  it  has  undoubtedly  been 
of  benefit.  But  its  absolute  influence  is  only  evil,  and  the  sooner 
its  degeneracy  is  followed  by  its  death,  the  better  for  the  land  it 
blights.  Its  most  conspicuous  competitor  in  Korea  is  Confucianism. 
This  strictly  is  an  ethical  rather  than  a  religious  system,  and  is 
based  on  the  writing  of  Kung,  the  Socrates  of  China,  who,  although 
born  551  b.  c.  is 

"  Not  yet  dead, 
But  in  old  marbles  ever  beautiful." 

Confucianism,  while  introduced  to  Korea  at  an  early  period, 
has  only  been  prominent  there  for  three  hundred  years.  It  i)re- 
sents  five  general  principles:  Benevolence, Uprightness,  Politeness, 
Wisdom  and  Fidelity.  It  treats  moreover  of  five  relations  of 
life,  which  are:  King  and  Subject,  Parent  and  Child,  Husband 
and  Wife,  Elder  and  Younger  Brother,  and  Friend  with  Friend. 
Nothuig  is  said  of  the  soul's  immortality.  Concerning  the  exis- 
tence of  any  God  or  gods,  one  of  its  authorities  declares,  "  Sufli- 
cicnt  knowledge  is  not  possessed  to  say  positively  that  they  exist, 
and  I  see  no  difficulty  in  omitting  the  subject  altogether."  Indeed, 
Confucianism  chiefly  seeks  to  mould  society  in  social  and  political 
matters.    It  presents  many  admirable  ideas  which  yet  fall  infinitely 


THE   MISSION    IN    KOREA.  299 

short  of  the  trutli  man  chiefly  needs.  Confucian  temples  contain 
no  idols.  The  buildin";  is  distinguished  within  by  a  tablet  which 
sets  forth  the  honor  of  the  great  Sage.  Generally  a  large  number 
of  less  conspicuous  tablets  appear,  which  praise  his  best  known 
disciples.  An  altar  is  erected  where  sacrifice  k  made,  or  offerings 
laid.  Some  of  the  displays  on  festal  occasions  are  very  fine.  The 
second  and  eighth  months  are  the  fixed  times  for  offering  sacrifice 
to  Confucius,  who  is  not  however  regarded  as  a  god,  as  these  facts 
would  seem  to  indicate. 

Taoism  also  exists  in  Korea,  but  exerts  but  little  influence.  Its 
distinctive  feature  is  Rationalism.  Its  ceremonies  are  singular, 
and  its  tenets  grossly  materialistic.  It  is  also  an  importation 
from  China,  where  it  originated  with  the  philosopher  Laotz,  who 
lived  in  the  seventh  century.  It  oflTers  many  idols,  yet  neither 
the  temples  or  the  priests  are  numerous,  or  well  supported. 

Far  more  worthy  of  our  regard,  is  ancestral  worship,  as  it 
exists  in  Korea.  It  is  really  an  expression  of  the  popular  idea 
of  what  constitutes  filial  piety.  If  families  can  afford  it  they 
erect  temples,  handsomely  built,  and  there  place  tablets  inscribed 
with  the  names  and  virtues  of  their  immediate  ancestors.  A 
valuable  feature  of  this  idea  is  the  preservation  of  a  complete 
genealogical  list.  Generally  speaking,  the  tablet  is  erected 
without  the  dignity  of  a  temple  to  shelter  it.  Before  these 
tablets,  and  in  honor  of  the  deceased,  theatrical  plays  are  per- 
formed on  temporary  stages ;  presentations  of  food  are  made  to 
the  departed  spirit,  and  even  more  commonly,  prayers  are  offered 
and  wailings  indulged  in.  We  are  prepared  now^  to  notice  the 
facts  connected  with  the 


INTRODUCTION   OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

Possibly,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  certainly  in  the 
eighteenth.  Papal  converts  from  Japan  and  China,  carried 
Romish  religion  into  Korea.  They  taught,  they  baptized,  they 
labored  with  conspicuous  zeal,  although  not  always  with  com- 
mendable caution 

About  1783  a  distinguished  official,  Senghuni  by  name,  pro- 
fessed conversion,  and  was  baptized  under  the  new  name  of 
Peter.  The  better  class  of  scholai-s  w^ere  not  slow  to  see  the 
superiority  of  even  corrupt  Christianity,  to  their  own  Pagan 
systems.  The  people  began  to  take  kindly  to  the  missionaries  in 
their  midst,  who  were  greatly  encouraged. 

Religious  books  were  translated  and  distributed.  The  govern- 
ment was  now  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  priesthood  was 
awakened.     Prejudice  being  kindled,  blazed   into   passion  and 


300  HISTORICAL   SKETCH    OF 

consumed  the  new  cliurch  with  all  the  fierce  fires  of  unrelenting 
persecution.  It  was  the  old  story.  Many  recanted  and  saved 
their  lives.  Others  fled  to  China  ;  and  four  thousand  poor  souls 
braved  martyrdom  by  sword  and  fagot,  and  unmentional)le  tor- 
tures. 

Jean  dos  Remidios,  a  priest  from  Portugal,  was  the  first  person 
from  the  West,  who  ever  ventured  on  Korean  soil  for  the  i)ur- 
pose  of  preaching  and  teaching.  Holland  sailors  were  ship- 
wrecked there  in  1672,  and  detained  as  prisoners  for  some  time. 
But  their  stay  was  involuntary,  and  their  work  by  no  means 
evangelistic. 

The  results  of  Remidios'  efl!c)rts  were  considerable  at  first, 
but  soon  jiassed  away.  In  1835,  under  the  influence  of  Bour- 
bon ascendency  in  France,  Roman  Cotholic  missions  were 
re-introduced  to  Korea.  The  pioneers  of  this  fresh  crusade 
went  over  land  by  way  of  China  and  ^lantchuria.  In  a 
few  yeai*s  they  claimed  several  thousand  of  adherents.  As 
previously,  and  for  the  same  reasons,  blood  soon  drowned  out 
all  traces  of  the  boasted  conquest.  Again  and  again  Rome 
rallied,  and  as  often  was  driven  from  the  field.  The  workmen 
died,  and  the  work  itself  was  deserted.  So  it  seemed  at  least. 
Yet  a  remnant  must  have  survived.  Even  if  we  discredit 
the  Jesuit  story,  doubtless  highly  colored,  that  they  had  10,000 
converts  in  1850;  and  about  15,000  seven  years  later,  still 
we  must  believe  that  there  was  some  foundation  for  their  state- 
ment. The  year  i860  was  important  in  the  East.  It  was  then 
that  English  arms  so  completely  mastered  the  resistance  of  the 
great  Chinese  Empire. 

British  greed  had  forced  India's  opium  upon  the  people  of  the 
eighteen  Provinces.  British  guns  were  the  unanswerable  argu- 
ment which  supported  the  demand.  The  forts  of  the  Peiho  fell 
before  the  merciless  fire  to  which  they  were  subjected.  Peking 
was  taken  and  sacked.  The  prestige  of  China  was  destroyed. 
It  was  all  man's  wrong  and  man's  wrath  against  his  fellow-man. 
Yet,  how  God  overruled  it  for  His  own  glory !  The  fruits  of 
that  victory — directly  or  indirectly — were  the  enforced  ojx'ning 
of  new  Chinese  ports  to  commerce,  additional  guarantees  for 
Christian  ]\Iissions,  and  the  opportunity  it  gave  Russia  of  seizing 
lands  contiguous  to  China. 

Nowhere  more  than  in  Korea  were  these  changes  felt.  It  had 
been  supposed  that  China  was  impregnal)le.  But  the  Dragon 
Throne  had  been  despoiled  by  a  mere  handful  of  "outside  bar- 
barians." The  great  Emperor  was  an  exile  in  Tartary.  The 
red  cross  of  St.  George  floated  over  the  j)alace  of  Peking.  All 
this  sent  a  thrill  of  consternation  throujjh  the  hermit  nation — 


THE   MISSION   IN    KOREA.  301 

where  the  more  thoughtful  ones  could  see  that  such  an  over- 
throw was  indication  of  their  own  peril,  if  not  a  prelude  to  their 
own  destruction.  The  handwriting  was  on  the  wall.  One  has 
said,  "  Political  convulsions,  like  geological  upheavings,  usher  in 
new  epochs  of  the  world's  progress."  It  has  proved  so  in  this 
instance.  Paganism  at  once  made  frantic  efforts  to  shut  itself 
securely  away  from  progress.  Armies  were  drilled  in  Korea; 
forts  were  built ;  frontiers  were  guarded ;  every  precaution  was 
taken.  Watch-fires  were  kindled  at  a  moment's  notice  on  the 
coast,  and  headland  telegraphed  to  headland  of  any  impending 
danger.     All  was  in  vain. 

Within  six  years.  Napoleon  III.  sent  an  expedition  to  Korea. 
On  the  plea  that  certain  Frenchmen  had  been  slain  in  a  recent 
persecution  of  Christians,  Admiral  Roze,  of  the  French  navy, 
blockaded  Han  River,  penetrated  the  interior  as  far  as  Seoul, 
the  capital,  and  completely  destroyed  the  city  of  Kang  Wa,  sit- 
uated on  an  island  of  that  name  ;  and  the  chief  military  depot  of 
Western  Korea.  He  afterwards  attacked  Tong  Chin.  Here  he 
was  repulsed  with  great  loss,  being  ultimately  obliged  to  retire 
altogether. 

An  American  buccaneering  expedition,  on  the  schooner 
"  General  Sherman,"  in  1866  made  a  futile  attempt  to  reach  the 
royal  tombs  of  Pingan ;  where  it  was  said  the  Emperors  of 
Korea  were  buried  in  coffins  of  gold.  The  Yankee  craft  ran 
aground  at  low  tide  in  the  river.  In  this  helpless  condition  it 
was  surrounded  by  blazing  fire-rafts,  and  destroyed ;  the  crew 
were  all  slain.  Admiral  Rowan,  on  the  Flagship  Wachusett, 
immediately  demanded  of  Korea  an  explanation  of  her  "  insult 
to  the  flag."  Not  meeting  with  success,  he  returned  to  China ; 
but  almost  immediately  despatched  the  U.  S.  Corvette  Shenan- 
doah, whose  officers  finally  learned  the  particulars  just  given. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  our  government  must  take  some 
steps  that  would  ensure  the  safety  of  American  mariners  who 
were  in  the  Avaters  adjacent  to  Korea,  and  might  be  shipwrecked. 
The  authorities  at  Washington  instructed  the  new  minister  to 
China,  Hon.  Fred.  F.  Low,  to  proceed  to  the  Korean  Capital, 
and  if  possible  conclude  a  commercial  treaty  between  that  Em- 
pire and  the  United  States,  having  especially  in  view  the  point 
alluded  to. 

Rear  Admiral  John  Rodgers,  commanding  the  Asiatic 
squadron  was  directed  to  accompany  him  with  sufficient  force  to 
maintain  the  nation's  honor.  Five  war  vessels  were  detailed 
for  this  duty.  On  May  23d,  1871,  this  little  fleet  anchored  off 
the  western  coast  of  Korea.  The  Americans  on  landing,  were 
treated  with  civility.      Eight  Korean  officers  visited  the  Flag- 


302  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF 

sliij),  ultlioufrh  they  presented  no  eredentials.  Valuable  time 
was  beinji:  lost.  Pending  dij)l()niatic  nejrotiations,  the  Admiral 
ordered  a  survey  of  the  lian  River.  To  this  duty  two  };un  boats 
and  four  steam  huuiches  were  a-^sij^ned.  Ascendin<r  the  river 
in  obedience  to  orders,  they  were  met  by  a  terrific  fire  from 
numerous  shore  batteries,  which  opened  upon  them  without 
])revious  warning.  The  forts  were  silenced  by  a  return  tire,  and 
demolished  by  ten-inch  shells,  after  which  the  ships  returned  to 
anchorage.  As  no  apology  was  offered  within  ten  days  for  this 
a.ssault,  759  men  were  landed,  and  ordered  to  carry  the  citadel. 
This  was  done  in  splendid  style.  To  the  credit  of  their  courage 
be  it  said,  the  Koreans  refused  to  surrender,  and  when  their 
stronghold  fell,  it  wjis  found  that  only  twenty  of  the  garrison  sur- 
vived, and  they  were  wounded.  Three  hundred  and  fifty  corpses 
were  piled  up  in  one  place.  If  they  failed  it  was  not  through 
cowardice. 

In  reality,  the  Americans  gained  no  substantial  advantage, 
and  like  the  French,  were  inclined  to  withdraw  without  further 
demonstrations.  Yet  they  prepared  the  way  for  others  to  enter. 
The  voice  of  their  howitzers  was  heard  in  the  land.  The  stripes 
of  their  banner  h;id  made  themselves  felt. 

In  1H7(),  Jajian  accomplished  the  important  task,  never  before 
successful,  of  making  a  complete  treaty  with  Korea.  This  was 
done  under  the  potent  influence  of  a  powerful  fleet,  and  a 
large  force  of  troops.  The  French  and  English  tried  to  take 
immediate  advantage,  but  made  no  headway.  This  was  in  1881. 
]\Ieanwhile,  the  trade  between  Korea  and  Japan  increased  mar- 
vellously, a  fact  which  incited  Western  envy  to  seek  and  seek 
again,  some  method  of  dividing  its  obvious  profits. 

Under  the  direction  of  President  Hayes,  and  the  authority  of 
Congress,  Commodore  Shufeldt  visited  Korea,  and  vainly  en- 
deavored to  establish  cordial  relations  with  the  authorities. 
Nothing  was  accomplished.  The  following  year,  however, 
through  the  friendly  intervention  of  Li  Hung  Chang,  the 
Chinese  Viceroy,  the  Commodore  was  better  received,  and  on 
May  6th,  1882,  negotiated  an  agreement  which  binds  together 
the  "  Outpost  State "  and  the  United  States  in  terms  mutually 
satisfactory.  Thus  were  the  mountains  levelled  and  an  highway 
made  for  our  Lord. 

A  minister  resident,  General  Foote,  was  sent  by  President 
Arthur  to  Seoul.  He  was  received  at  court,  and  established  at 
the  capital  a  I'nited  States  legation.  In  1884  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  began  a  station  at  Seoul.  H.  N. 
Allen,  M.  D.,  then  living  in  C'hina  as  a  medical  missionary, 
volunteered  to  go  thither.     He  was  sent,  and  Mrs.  Allen  soon 


THE   MISSION    IN    KORKA.  303 

followed  him.  Minister  Foote  at  once  appointed  him  physician 
to  the  Legation,  which  assured  his  safety  and  favorable  recep- 
tion. Previous  to  this  Rijutei,  a  Korean  of  high  rank  was  sent 
to  represent  his  government  in  Japan.  Here  he  was  converted. 
It  w'as  at  his  solicitations  that  our  Board  undertook  the  present 
work.  It  has  been  greatly  blessed  of  God.  During  a  disturb- 
ance in  Seoul  recently,  a  number  of  persons  of  distinction  were 
wounded.  Under  Dr.  Allen's  care,  some  of  them  recovered. 
The  life  of  a  nephew  of  the  king  was  thus  saved.  The  prestige 
thus  gained  for  the  cause  was  correspondingly  great. 

Within  the  past  year  three  others  have  joined  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Allen  at  their  post.  These  are,  J.  W.  Herron,  D.  D.,  and  wife, 
and  the  Rev.  H.  G.  Underwood.  Should  they  be  restricted 
hereafter  in  preaching,  Avhich  is  not  likely,  they  will  at  least 
maintain  Christian  schools.  So  the  work  goes  on.  The  present 
outlook  is  most  encouraging.  Owen  N.  Denny,  formerly  consul 
general  at  Shanghai,  has  just  been  appointed  foreign  adviser 
to  his  majesty  the  king. 

At  the  suggestion  of  our  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  at 
Washington,  an  experimental  farm  has  been  started  in  Korea. 
Seeds  with  directions  were  contributed  from  the  Department. 
The  intention  is  to  have  the  increase  of  these  scattered  through- 
out the  kingdom.  Blooded  animals  from  California  have  also 
been  purchased  for  this  government  plantation. 

Three  of  the  most  distinguished  nobles  of  the  empire  have 
entered  the  Methodist  College  at  Shanghai. 

What  of  the  future  ?  We  only  know  this — God's  providences 
have  no  backward  steps.  Let  us  have  the  assurance  of  faith. 
Let  us  have  importunity  in  prayer,  that  our  hope  may  share  the 
l)romise  of  that  future  when  on  the  entire  Peninsula  "  the  Light 
of  Asia  "  shall  pale  before  the  "  Star  of  Bethlehem,"  when  Laotz 
and  Confucius  shall  be  forgotten  in  the  ascendency  of  Christ ; 
and  when  the  Cross  of  Calvary  shall  irradiate  Korea  with  such 
celestial  beauty  as  shall  make  it  indeed  the  "  land  of  morning 
calm."  Then  shall  the  salvation  of  the  peoj^le  bear  witness  to 
their  words, — as  from  the  Ever  White  mountains  to  the  sound- 
ing sea  the  cry  shall  go  up,  "  Galilean,  thou  hast  conquered ! " 
In  view  of  such  possibilities,  our  age  is  as  that  spoken  of  by 
Pope,  when  "  it  was  criminal  to  be  moderate." 

Missionaries  in  Korea. 


Allen,  H.  N.,  M.D., 

1884- 

Herron,  Mrs., 

1885 

Allen,  Mrs. 

1884- 

Underwood,  Rev.  H.  G., 

1885- 

Ilerron,  John,  M.D., 

1885- 

ADDENDUM. 

Mrs.  Asher  Wright,  missionary  to  the  Seneca  Indians  for 
more  than  fifty  years,  died  at  Vei*sailles,  New  York,  on  the 
21st  of  January,  1886. 


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